


Forget You

by ehemond



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, F/F, has this been done?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26036185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ehemond/pseuds/ehemond
Summary: Bella didn't want to be at her birthday party in the first place, but the Cullens insisted and now she's here. She doesn't know who these strangers are, crowding around her and talking about vampires? She really hopes she's not about to become someone's dinner. But that blonde goddess is really pretty and also really strong. She might be okay with being her's...
Relationships: Rosalie Hale/Bella Swan
Comments: 158
Kudos: 1039
Collections: Bella Swan f/f





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I'm back with another fic and this time it is a Rosella fic because smeyer is a coward but I am not. I do have the entire story plotted out (although not completely written) but I'm just posting this here to see if there's any interest. I am certainly interested in the rest of the story.

Bella still isn’t entirely sure how she finds herself sitting in a circle with the Cullen family singing happy birthday in a range of enthusiasms to her. It has something to do with Edward insisting and Alice’s pout, but promises of a homemade meal by Esme may have also been thrown in.

It doesn’t really matter how, but now gifts are being shoved at Bella from all angles. Reaching haplessly into the fray, she pulls out a gift. It is fairly small, a perfectly wrapped box with a perfect little bow atop it. Bella examines it carefully, shaking the box a couple of times while being incredibly aware of each and every one of the Cullens focusing on her. 

“Jeez, you’d think I’m getting a nuclear weight or something,” Bella jokes carefully, trying to dispel their attention. She really does not want to be the sole receiver of their scrutiny. It is already enough with just Alice’s overbearing personality or Edward’s smothering presence. She doesn’t need Jasper or Rosalie’s laser focus, or Esme’s motherly affection all at once. In fact, she really doesn’t want it. She’s a one vampire at a time kind of gal.

Alice frowns, “Did you want one? I could…” she trails off sheepishly at Edward’s glare, shaking her head, “Never mind. Open it, Bella! It’s your gift!”

"Right.” Bella fumbles with her gift, trying to figure out the most graceful way to open it. She doesn’t think reckless tearing will be appreciated, especially if Rosalie is the gift-giver. She gets the bow off, but that leaves the rest of the box’s wrappings.

Looking up, Bella’s eyes catch Rosalie’s. The blonde seems to be glaring furiously at Bella. Maybe it is her gift that Bella is mauling, and suddenly she feels incredibly self-conscious. 

Bella eventually frees her gift from the wrapping paper, opening the box to reveal...a toy truck? She picks the truck up and examines it closely for far too long before eventually looking up, “What?”

Emmett begins laughing boisterously and even Rosalie cracks a smile. “I fixed your car,” she explains, “So that it’s not a death trap and I also installed a stereo while you were eating.”

“Oh,” Bella stares at the toy, “Thanks. You didn’t have to do so much, though.”

Rosalie shrugs, tossing her head, “It’s in everyone’s best interest to make sure you don’t die from something as stupid as your antique—and not in a good way—truck.”

“Well, still.” Bella leaves off awkwardly, pocketing the toy quickly. She doesn’t know why, but Rosalie’s gift is strangely touching. Rosalie might make it seem like it’s nothing, but Bella has always had a weakness for actually useful gifts given with the intention of improving her life. Nothing like the beautiful and probably useless gifts Alice and Edward are going to shove onto her.

An uncomfortable silence settles briefly over the gathering before Alice breaks it, bounding over to Bella with all the enthusiasm of a corgi in a sunlit meadow, “Open mine next!” Her gift is eagerly shoved into Bella’s hands.

“Uh, okay.” Bella begins opening the next gift, focusing attentively on removing the wrapping until she notices Rosalie turning away. Trying not to let it affect her, Bella continues her ministrations, but her attention has shifted.

Suddenly a growl sounds from beside her and Bella stares inquiringly at Edward before looking down at the gift in her lap. Drops of red begin to well up from her finger and almost as if in a trance, Bella raises her finger up to examine it.

Her movements are halted by another growl, and Bella looks up to meet six pairs of pitch-black eyes trained on the blood welling from her fingertip. “Oops.”

Before she has time to react, Bella is thrown backwards, and her world goes black.

-§-§-§-§-§-§-§-

Bella comes to slowly, her mind muddled and senses gradually realigning themselves. She isn’t sure where she is, or how she came to be in her current situation. Hopefully, Bella tries opening her eyes, but the moment light floods her senses, she decides against it. Instead she chooses to focus on the low murmur of sounds that steadily become clearer until she can begin to make out traces of words.

“...not fine...doctor..."

“...explain...vampire...bloodlust..."

“...monsters..."

“...hurt...injured...idiot..."

The more Bella hears, the more her heart begins to race. Who are these people and what do they mean? What do vampires have to do with anything?

“Wait!”

Bella has no clear way of telling, but she somehow knows when all attention shifts to her.

“She’s up!”

The perky, if slightly worried voice grates on her ears, but just about everything grates on Bella at this point. She figures it’s a side effect of the vicious pounding in her head, but she can’t be entirely sure.

“What’s going on?” Bella mumbles as she tries to sit up before a presence rushes to her side and gently helps her. The world is still spinning slightly, getting steadily clearer as Bella blinks her eyes rapidly.

Someone suddenly appears in Bella’s vision, a physically flawless face framed by a cute pixie cut that gazes worriedly into her eyes, “Hey, hey, it’s okay. There was a bit of an accident-”

Harshly, a beautifully enraged voice cuts in, “It wasn’t an accident. Edward couldn’t control himself. Reckless endangerment is never an accident.”

“Okay,” Pixie-Cut corrects herself, “Maybe not entirely an accident, but you hit your head and you have some cuts, but nothing major! I think.”

Bella looks down at her arms, finally noticing the bandages wrapped around her arms. She winces, as if her body has abruptly realized that it is supposed to be in pain. Dimly, she looks around herself, noticing the shards of glass to her right and a room that seems just on the edge of completely destroyed. “Oh.”

A blonde man, looking vaguely like Captain America, approaches Bella slowly and crouches beside her, “I’d like to check you out a bit more thoroughly for any more lasting damage, however, if that’s okay with you?”

“Uh, sure,” Bella agrees.

Captain America begins a series of procedures, which Bella assumes are to assess her brain function. She goes through the motions, and he seems to be ultimately satisfied with the results.

“Well, I think you’ve sustained some light head trauma, but I don’t think anything extremely dangerous occurred. I would recommend observation for the next 24 hours at the very least.”

“She should go to a hospital, Carlisle,” Harsh-But-Beautiful cuts in and a blonde head appears at the edge of Bella’s vision, “A rushed checkup is nothing considering Edward just threw her into the wall through a vase like a rag-doll.”

In the background, someone, presumably the aforementioned Edward, hisses.

Bella assumes that the Steve Rogers look-alike is Carlisle, who nods his head in agreement, “I would normally agree with you Rosalie, but I’m not sure if bringing Bella to the hospital is the safest thing right now.”

Presumably, Rosalie is the one with the hostilely angelic voice. And a brain.

“Right,” Rosalie snaps sarcastically, “Can’t forget to protect our secret vampiric identities after Edward tosses her around like a dog with a toy.”

The hissing gets louder. It must be a really touchy subject for Edward.

Carlisle admonishes Rosalie, “Don’t attack your brother like that.”

“What?” Rosalie returns, “For telling the truth? He almost got Bella killed because of his irrepressible urge to suck her dry.”

“He did what his instincts were telling him to do, to protect Bella from immediate danger. It’s not his fault that he tried to get Bella away from harm,” Carlisle reasons calmly.

Rosalie snorts derisively in response, “Not his fault? He threw her across the room out of some imagined threat when absolutely none of us were about to hurt Bella.”

Yeah, Bella agrees. She doesn’t know what is going on, but Rosalie sounds like she knows what she’s talking about. All of a sudden, Bella tenses, processing Rosalie and Carlisle’s words. Secret vampiric identities? Thrown across the room? Was that what happened to her? Are vampires real? 

Bella shrugs internally, body still unwilling to follow her thoughts. She must have gotten where she is somehow. Why not vampires. Next thing she knows, they will be telling her werewolves are real, too.

Turning her head towards the origin of Rosalie’s voice, Bella gasps. Her voice had barely done Rosalie justice because she is absolutely gorgeous. Bella’s breath literally escapes her because she forgets to breathe in the face of such perfection.

At her gasp, Pixie-Cut quickly reappears at Bella’s side, a barrage of questions following, “Are you okay? Did something happen? Are you in pain?”

“She would be fine if Edward hadn’t given her blunt head trauma,” Rosalie cuts in bitingly.

Petulantly, a voice joins the conversation. Bella assumes it’s Edward based on the childlike sullenness in his tone. Edward is a bronze-haired boy whose hair looks like it had fought with a wild cat and lost. It is his most noticeable trait, although Bella notes that he is fairly attractive, if not for the eternal look of constipation on his face, “I was protecting her. You were all looking at Bella like she was a particularly appetizing blood bag. I had to get her away!”

“Edward!” Rosalie shouts, turning furiously towards Edward, “We can control ourselves! She’s your singer, you were the one looking at her like a blood bag! Sure, we might have had some temporary bloodlust, but we have been doing this for a long time. We know how to deal with it. You are the only one who wants to suck her dry every moment of every day!”

The longer Rosalie continues her rant, the wider Bella’s eyes become. If what she said is true, what is Bella doing in a den full of bloodsucking vampires? No matter how or why she is in this mess, Bella wants out. 

In reaction to Rosalie’s words, Edward starts growling before leaping at Rosalie. Bella yelps and Rosalie forcefully shoves Edward to the side as if he weighs nothing. A loud crash is heard and Bella blinks rapidly before deciding that yes, the tall blonde goddess did in fact toss Edward through the wall to her left. 

Edward stumbles out of the hole his body had made in the wall, dusting grains of literal stone from his body. He doesn’t look phased at all. Physically, at least. The pout on his face is one for the ages.

If anything could have convinced Bella about the presence of actual vampires, she figures that was probably as good as she is ever going to get barring literal fangs shoved in her throat.

“Um..." Bella speaks up before trailing off, staring at Rosalie, “Did that really happen or am I just really feeling that concussion?”

Edward snarls, bending over into a crouch and mouth baring open. Bella squints, and oh, yep, those are definitely fangs.

Opening her mouth, Bella pauses before answering herself, “That really happened. Good to know.”

Straightening himself out, Edward plasters a placid smile onto his face and approaches Bella, “Forgive me for that. Some of us,” he shoots a meaningful look at Rosalie, who glares back at him, “Haven’t learned to control our more vicious impulses.”

Bella stares at Edward. Who is this guy? Unless she is suffering from delusional memory alongside her memory loss and migraine, Bella is quite certain that he was the one who had lept at Rosalie. “Right.”

Rosalie snorts before stalking closer towards Bella. Bella should probably feel some measure of fear, coiled energy basically rolling off Rosalie in waves, but she knows somewhere deep in her mind that Rosalie would never hurt her. 

Immediately, Bella shakes herself out of that thought. Rosalie had just minutes earlier thrown her brother into the wall. Sure, he is probably a vampire and could certainly take it, but if that is what Rosalie would do to her brother, Bella should definitely be concerned for her safety. (She isn’t.)

“Are you disoriented?” Rosalie demands.

“What?” Bella gazes confusedly back at her.

“Are you disoriented? Do you feel dizzy? Trouble focusing on anything?”

“I, don’t think so?”

“Is that a question or an answer?”

“An answer?”

Rosalie’s eyes bore into Bella’s, straight into her soul like they are looking for something. She doesn’t seem satisfied with what she finds, but she breaks the stare-off with a sigh.

“I think she’s fine,” Pixie-Cut pipes up, six pairs of eyes snapping towards her the moment she opens her mouth, “I could never be completely certain, but I don’t see anything bad happening to Bella because of her head injury today.”

Bella can’t be entirely sure, but Pixie-Cut seems awfully sure of herself. Like she knows what would happen, even before it happens. But that’s crazy. No one can predict the future. But then again, Bella reasons, vampires aren’t supposed to exist either. She’s not secure in any of her knowledge about the supernatural, and Bella is becoming more and more concerned with what Past-Bella had gotten herself caught up in.

Shaking her head, Rosalie mutters to herself, “Well-worded.”

“So she’s perfectly fine?” Edward asks, “Nothing happened to Bella?”

Rosalie whirls immediately back at Edward, “She has a head injury because of you!”

“But nothing permanent, right?”

“Eh,” Pixie-Cut shakes her head sheepishly, “I wouldn’t really say nothing..."

Edward’s face, although not noticeably affected, seems to take on an ashy pallor. 

“What does she mean, Eddie?” Rosalie’s voice takes on a dangerous edge, “What. Does. Alice. Mean.”

Bella can’t keep it in anymore. Rosalie, Carlisle, Edward, Alice, all these people and Bella has no idea how she found herself in her current situation. “Who are you people?”

Before she knows it, fourteen golden eyes train themselves on Bella.


	2. personal agency is important

After her rather poorly timed exclamation, no one speaks. Not a sound is heard except for Bella’s slightly labored breathing and Bella regrets everything she has ever done in her life to bring her to this incredibly awkward situation. Nothing has ever prepared her for losing her memory in a house full of vampires.

The longer the silence drags on, the more uncomfortable Bella becomes. She shifts uncertainly, surrounded by beautiful unmoving statues like a child before the court of Olympus. “Wrong question?”

“Uh, yeah. That.” What must be Alice offers, smiling uneasily, “I forgot to mention that.”

“Care to share with the rest of the class?” Rosalie’s voice is sharply edged steel, leaving no room for opposition. Bella feels obligated to supply an answer even though she has no idea what she would say.

“Well, you see,” Alice begins slowly, twisting her fingers around themselves, “It’s just that Edward threw Bella really hard into the wall, and well, humans are just really fragile and so-”

“Stop dithering and get to the point.” Rosalie cuts Alice off. The command is clear.

Alice grimaces before blurting out, “Bella’s head suffered a lot of trauma and she doesn’t know who we are!”

Silence reigns. The weirdly beautiful collection of possible vampires seems stunned into silence. Bella still isn’t sure what is going on, but what Alice said makes sense with what she knows. Her head does hurt a bit and she has no idea who the people around her are. That’s probably the more important point.

“It, it can’t be.” Edward looks simultaneously heartbroken and...gleeful? Why would anybody look happy that someone has completely forgotten them? That kid is really weird.

“Hate to break it to you, but I think pixie cut is right,” Bella interjects, “I don’t know you guys. And I really hope I’m in some kind of LARP group or something and not casually injured in a vampire nest or whatever they’re called.”

The collection of vampires exchanges meaningful looks with each other and all of Bella’s hopes and dreams are flushed down a toilet. People don’t exchange meaningful looks after a pressing question if they’re not at least contemplating lying. Bella has to applaud them for at least trying to get their stories straight, but the strange vampire family has already rolled a 1 in deception.

The meaningful looks continue, and Bella starts to wonder if the vamp fam is somehow communicating with themselves without her knowledge. At this point, telepathic abilities would only be the icing on the cake of a ridiculously complex supernatural sandwich. They must be talking to each other because Rosalie appears to be getting steadily more furious the longer the looks go on. She’s like a plugged pipe being filled with more and more liquid anger until she bursts. And Bella knows the inevitable explosion will be glorious. She can feel it.

“Take her to the fucking hospital!” 

Ah, here it comes. Bella settles in to watch the carnage, even though she should really be more concerned with a bunch of vampires most likely deliberating over her fate. They seem pretty peaceful though. She hopes. Her calm demeanor is definitely the shock talking.

“We have to consider the potential repercussions if we do that. We have to look at the bigger picture,” Carlisle reasons firmly, “There is more to the story.”

Apparently, the pretense is gone, and the telepathic vampires are not going to pretend they aren’t talking about Bella while she is in the same room and perfectly aware that is exactly what they are doing. That is at least mildly reassuring.

“Than her health and well-being?!” Rosalie is completely incredulous, “She suffered memory loss from being violently thrown into a wall, Carlisle! I don’t see the other side of making sure Edward didn’t completely ruin an innocent human’s life!”

“What are people going to say?” Carlisle doesn’t rise to the bait, “How do we explain Bella’s injuries? How would the Quileutes react? We have to be careful with our identities, Rosalie.”

Rosalie seems to explode even more at that, “Our identities aren’t worth someone’s life! Bella has no idea who we are and who knows what else could have happened to her when she, I repeat, was thrown into the wall!”

Bella has to agree with Rosalie. She very much values her life. She doesn’t know what the Quileute tribe has to do with a bunch of vampires, but she also really doesn’t want to know.

Carlisle sighs before nodding. “You’re right, of course. Bella’s life comes first. But I really don’t know how she lost her memory. There isn’t really any medical precedence with this kind of thing.”

“So we take her to a hospital,” Rosalie exclaims, “Has everyone here lost their minds?”

A big burly boy- no, Bella corrects herself, a big burly vampire nods his head, “I’m with ya Rose. I think we should take Bella Bear to a hospital.”

Bella will have to revisit that nickname later because she absolutely did not sign up to be called “Bella Bear”.

Running her hand through her hair in frustration, Rosalie directs a smile at the boy, “Thank you Emmett. At least someone here doesn’t have a moral backbone made of fucking spaghetti.”

So that must be Emmett. He and Rosalie seem to be fairly close, but Bella supposes that’s how families work.

Another woman speaks up, a stunning redhead and if all vampires are this perfectly beautiful, Bella wants to know where she can sign up. Do they have like a secret cult for potential vampires? Is it a voluntary thing? Bella has so many questions. “I agree with Rosalie, but I do think we should be careful with our own identities. Has Bella shown any other signs of danger or has it just been the memory loss?”

“That’s a good question,” Carlisle agrees, turning to face Bella and gazing at her critically, “Have you been feeling any disorientation or dizziness? Anything that doesn’t feel right?”

“Uh, memory loss?” Bella offers weakly.

Rosalie snorts derisively, “Yes, I heard that happens when one is violently slammed into a stone wall.”

Edward growls again. He sure is sensitive about the subject. Bella doesn’t really get why. After all, he was the one to violently throw her into the wall. But it was as if he felt that said violent wall-throwing was necessary and it was somehow justified. Bella doesn’t know the whole story of course, but she figures it must’ve been a really extreme situation to justify throwing a so-called fragile human violently into a wall. Unless he overreacted. Which, judging by what Bella knows about him so far, seems perfectly logical. Rosalie wasn’t the one to instigate their short-lived fight and throw him into the wall unprompted.

Carlisle tsks, shaking his head, “It’s too early to call, but I do think we should check up on Bella frequently. At this point in time, it seems the only real side effects from her, ahem, being thrown into a wall are some pain and, well, the amnesia.”

Rosalie still doesn’t look convinced. “She has no idea who we are, Carlisle. Don’t you think that’s cause for concern?”

“I do believe it is some cause for concern, but Bella appears to be otherwise unharmed from her accident. I would advise that we keep her under observation for at least the next twenty-four hours, and if anything were to happen, we bring her to the hospital at once.”

Nodding his head, Edward chimes in, “That seems very fair, doesn’t it Rose?” His comment is pointedly directed at Rosalie, who still continues to frown.

“And when they ask why we didn’t bring her in immediately? I don’t like any of that. If something happens to Bella, that means even more attention is pointed at us. Plus, if something happens to Bella, it means something. Fucking. Happened. To. Her.” Drawing out her last sentence, Rosalie looks around at her family, “And it’ll be all your fault.”

Carlisle opens his mouth, making as if to speak, but with a gasp, Alice intervenes, “Wait!”

Six heads whip towards Alice, as well as Bella’s, whose head moves at a completely normal and human pace. Alice’s eyes seem to have glazed over and she looks like she’s having some kind of magical vision. Suddenly it hits Bella. Alice is definitely having a vision. Is it the future? Can Alice see the future? It is the only reasonable explanation. Bella never thought that a vampire’s magical future sight would ever be the only reasonable explanation for anything, but here she is.

After that brief pause of having an actual fucking vision of the future, Alice continues, “From what I saw, Bella will be perfectly fine not going to a hospital. If she goes, they’d do a few scans and come up with nothing except for the fact that she has selective amnesia, which we all know already.”

“Are you sure?” Edwards demands, “Completely, one hundred percent sure?”

“Yes,” Alice nods, “I am very sure, Edward.”

“And the amnesia lasts?”

At that question, Alice bites her lip, eyes shifting to each of her sides before replying, “I couldn’t say forever, but I think it’ll last for a while at the very least.”

“Define a while.” Rosalie cuts in dryly.

Alice hesitates. “I can’t,” she says helplessly, arms up in the air, “It could mess everything up and also I really don’t know. It all depends on what happens.”

“So-”

“No,” Alice cuts Rosalie off, “I can promise that Bella has suffered no permanent damage that will negatively affect her life beyond the amnesia.”

Well, Bella thinks, that’s a relief at least. She might have lost who knows how much of her life, but she is definitely not going to lose any more in the future. As long as she doesn’t end the day as someone’s snack, that is. Although judging by Rosalie’s apparent concern for her well-being, Bella thinks her odds are pretty good. Rosalie will definitely defend her if anybody’s feeling the munchies. She thinks.

“Sooo,” Bella begins, “It’s great that I’m not super injured I guess, but, uh, I still don’t know who you guys are. Or why I’m here.”

The vampire family exchanges more meaningful looks among each other and Bella sighs. Left out as always it seems.

Taking initiative, Edward pastes a smile onto his face and turns to Bella. His voice is a mix of condescending and saccharine, an unpleasant combination at the best of times. It’s really infuriating because he also happens to be extremely attractive and Bella doesn’t like putting the two together, “Well, Bella, what do you know? Do you know where you are?”

“Forks?”

“Yes,” Edward nods his head, smiling at Bella like she is an innocent sheep alone in a field and him a hungry wolf, “You are in Forks. You don’t know who we are, though, do you?”

“Vampires?”

He grimaces, “Well, yes, but who we are.” He gestures to himself and his family.

“Nice vampires?”

Rosalie snorts, Alice grins, and Emmett laughs. Even that overly serious blonde boy standing at the corner cracks a sliver of a smile. 

“Sure,” Edward allows, stepping closer to Bella. 

She tries not to let her discomfort show, but that boy is just really weird. And he gives off the strangest vibes. She doesn’t know how to put it into words, but he more than anyone in the room looks like he wants to eat her. And not in the fun way.

“But you don’t know who I am, do you?” Edward’s eyes go from a burnt gold to a pitch black as he nears Bella and takes a deep, reassuring breath.

“Dracula?”

Edward lets out a barking laugh while continuing to move forward. He is getting progressively closer to Bella until he is an arm’s length away. Her pulse begins to pound and Bella’s eyes dart around him, looking for some kind of escape when a hand appears on Edward’s shoulder and jerks him away.

Edward whirls around in a blur to face the interloper, face twisting up into a snarl as he hisses at Bella’s savior. To no surprise, it is Rosalie who hisses back at him.

“Back off.”

Crouching down, Edward makes as if to leap at Rosalie, but faster than Bella can process, Emmett is at Edward’s side and hauling him away, “Calm down, bro. Rose is right.”

Bella doesn’t know how Emmett and Rosalie seem to have picked up on her nerves, but she is nonetheless grateful for their intervention. Hoping she can diffuse some tension and draw the attention back on herself before any more violence occurs, Bella speaks up, “So why exactly am I here?”

“Well,” Edward answers smoothly, seeming to have put himself together and returning to Bella’s side, “It’s your birthday!” He gestures grandly around the room.

Bella follows his arms and she is not impressed. She herself is on a couch near a wall. One side of the room is a mess with a bunch of stone debris surrounding an Edward shaped dent in the wall. Another side has a bunch of plaster and a Bella shaped hole in the wall. The corner between those two walls has a pile of broken glass. Another corner has a pile of what appear to be presents stacked on top of each other into a pyramid.

It may be her birthday, but it still doesn’t explain the scene before her. Bella blinks back at Edward blandly, “Okay. But why am I here?”

Edward stares back at Bella, a vague image of disbelief written into his face. “It’s your birthday party! Why wouldn’t you be here?”

Bella nods slowly, still not comprehending. Edward seems to take her nodding as a form of acceptance, smiling in satisfaction, but Bella continues, “That really doesn’t explain it. I hate my birthday. Why would I want to be at a party for it?”

Edward makes a face. That’s the only way Bella can really describe it. His mouth drops into an o-shape, his eyes widen and the corners scrunch at the same time. He looks kind of like a fish. In the background, Rosalie snorts. Again. She seems to be deriving a lot of pleasure out of Edward’s misery.

Bella honestly doesn’t understand the obsession with birthdays. They’re just the yearly anniversaries of one’s birth. It’s nothing super monumental, nor does it represent any significant milestone in her life beyond aging. It just doesn’t seem worth all the fuss. She makes that point clear and Edward seems to flounder.

“It’s your birthday! It’s important!”

“Whatever you say, buddy.”

Her comments seem to deeply affect Edward, but Bella doesn’t really care. She has no idea who he was to her before he threw her into a wall and her entire character estimation is based on their recent interactions. Plus the fact that he threw her into a wall. She is not impressed. “That, uh, still doesn’t explain who you guys are. Why am I celebrating my birthday with a bunch of vampires?”

Taking this as her cue, Alice bounds to Bella’s side with a wide grin on her face, “Because we’re your friends!”

It takes Bella a second to process Alice’s words. She is friends with vampires? Her, Bella Swan, casually hanging out with blood-sucking monsters of the night? Although, Bella thinks, sneaking a look at Rosalie from the corner of her eyes, they really don’t look like monsters. “Oh.”

“Yes,” Edward slides into the conversation smoothly and gestures to himself, “And I am your-”

Frantically, Alice cuts him off by jumping onto Edward and clapping a hand over his mouth. “No!” She shouts, resisting his attempts to fling her off while continuing to silence him.

Taking in the scene, Bella notes that Alice looks like a spider monkey clutching onto her brother in an effort to stop whatever he was about to say. Bella cocks her head, thinking through Edward’s words. It must have been something important, but she has no idea what it was. She shakes her head. Maybe she is better off not knowing.

Tuning back to the vampires struggling before her, Edward and Alice appear to have ceased their physical confrontation but are now staring intently into each other’s eyes. Finally, Edward appears to relent, letting out a loud sigh while Alice smiles brilliantly before jumping off of him. 

The rest of the family looks on concernedly, but Alice appears as calm as a cat on a hot summer day. “We’re all good! Edward was just about to say that he was the one who introduced us all to you, but that was it!”

That was definitely not it, but Bella chooses not to press on the subject. “Great.” Suddenly the pounding in her head intensifies and Bella winces, “I’m really tired, so I’m just to head home now.” She forces out as reassuring a smile as she can manage before walking towards a doorway. She makes it into a hallway before realizing she has no idea where she is and turns back sheepishly. “Anyone point me out towards the exit?”

It is Carlisle who responds, “Wait, Bella. I’d like you to be under observation throughout the night and have someone check up on you every few hours. Would it be alright if you stayed the night with us? You could call Charlie and make sure everything is in order first, of course.”

“That makes sense,” Bella agrees, pointing to her couch, “I’ll just sleep here then.” She starts to lie back down, but a sharp laugh interrupts her.

“We’re vampires. We have a huge house and none of us sleep. You can take one of our rooms.” Edward smiles, pearly white teeth shining and fangs glittering. It is probably meant to be reassuring but Bella is not reassured, “Actually, take mine. And I will watch over you through the night.”

If it wasn’t for Edward’s general air of creepiness, Bella might have even considered accepting. As such, she refuses as calmly as possible, hoping it won’t somehow set the boy off again, “Thanks but uh no thanks. I’m fine here,” she pats the couch tensely, “Very comfortable place to sleep, y’know.”

She is just about to close her eyes when Rosalie’s angelic voice announces, “Bella can sleep in my room if she’d like. I’ll make sure nothing happens to her tonight.”

Now that is an offer Bella wouldn’t mind accepting. “Sure.” She tries not to let too much enthusiasm show, but out of all the members of this weird vampire family, Rosalie is by far the one Bella is most interested in. Plus Rosalie went through the effort of giving Bella a choice, which she really appreciates.

Rosalie nods curtly in response before extending a hand to help Bella up. “Come on, you look really tired.”

Accepting the hand gratefully, Bella allows herself to be pulled up with a smile, “Thanks, I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly blown away by the response this fic has had, so thank you everyone who has kudoed and commented! It's really appreciated. As to updates, I'm currently planning for weekly updates on Fridays, although we'll see what happens once I use up all my pre-written chapters. I hope this chapter lived up to expectations, and I'll be seeing you guys next week!


	3. what if we had a long emotional discussion while you watched over me through the night...and we were both girls...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh pretty much what it says on the tin? Anyways their relationship begins to progress...for Bella, at least.

Bella is brought to consciousness by a hand on her shoulder. The first thing she sees when she opens her eyes is a tall figure leaning over her, moonlight illuminating the figure just enough that Bella could swear she is being visited by an angel. Slowly, her mind catches up with the rest of her as Bella puts the pieces together. She doesn’t remember being led to Rosalie’s room, nor does she remember falling asleep in her bed, but it is now the middle of the night and Rosalie is gently shaking her awake. In her bed.

Her slow reaction must annoy Rosalie because the blonde leans further over Bella and shakes her more vigorously until Bella lets out a barely coherent, “Ugh.”

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

“Wha?”

“Okay, maybe not so awake. But Carlisle wants you to be checked up on throughout the night, so sorry. This is going to happen a few times.” 

Bella hears sounds of shuffling and feels Rosalie shifting around her. With a start, she realizes that about half her upper body is lying on Rosalie’s legs. Cheeks heating up at the realization, Bella scrambles up the bed so that she is sitting to Rosalie’s side instead of on top of her. Trying to keep her embarrassment from showing, Bella asks as casually as possible, “What time is it?”

“Half past one,” Rosalie replies, “You slept for about three hours.” 

“Oh.”

They don’t speak for a few minutes, and Bella feels mildly uncomfortable before realizing that Rosalie is examining her. She feels entirely like a specimen being observed through a glass window and she has no idea why it’s happening.

Finally, Rosalie breaks the silence, “You don’t seem to be having any problems, so you can go back to sleep now.”

“Oh.”

A beat passes and then Rosalie says, “You don’t seem that excited about it.”

“Well,” Bella shuffles around on the bed, which is, on a side note, really comfortable. It must be a shame that vampires can’t sleep because Bella would sleep forever in these beds if she could, “I’m just not that tired anymore.”

“You’re...not tired,” Rosalie repeats.

“Nope.” Bella shrugs, peeking through the corner of her eyes at Rosalie for her reaction. Rosalie doesn’t seem annoyed, but she does let out a sigh before shaking her head.

“Is there anything I can do to help you go back to sleep?”

The offer is nice, Bella has to admit. Unfortunately, she isn’t sure what Rosalie could do that would help her want to go back to sleep. She isn’t necessarily bursting with energy per se, but her three hour nap had done wonders. Her head doesn’t hurt beyond a dull pressure that barely amounts to anything and Bella almost feels like a new person. “I guess we can talk?”

“Talk.”

“Yeah, you know, about whatever.” Bella shrugs again. There is something about Rosalie that makes her uniquely intimidating, but at the same time, Bella feels strangely drawn to her. It’s a conflicting mix, but Bella finds that she is not completely adverse to it.

“Whatever.”

It seems Bella’s efforts are for naught because Rosalie barely responds to her attempts at conversation. It shouldn’t affect her the way it does, but Bella is strangely hurt at the snub.

Nevertheless, she persists. “Yeah, like, I don’t know, about anything. It doesn’t have to be really deep or anything if that makes you uncomfortable,” Bella chances another look at Rosalie, turning away quickly before the blonde catches her, “I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable. That wouldn’t be cool especially considering you’re going out of your way to make sure I’m in, y’know, tip top shape.” Bella gestures to herself before wincing, “That was weird. I should probably stop talking now.”

The problem, Bella realizes, with all of her sneak peeks at Rosalie, is that it is pretty dark outside. As in the only light coming in is from the moon and also happens to be coming from behind Rosalie. All of her glimpses of Rosalie have only shown bare outlines of her face, framed by blonde hair glowing in the light. If angels are real, Bella knows that is how they would look coming down from the heavens to grace mere mortals like her with their presence. Tragically, none of Rosalie’s angelicness has revealed anything about her mood, so Bella has no idea what Rosalie is thinking about her.

“That was fine. I’m not against talking to you, Bella. I just don’t know what you’d like to talk about.” Rosalie’s voice conveys...bemusement? Bella is totally okay with bemusement. As long as Rosalie is not totally disgusted by her awkwardness, Bella counts any slightly positive reaction as a win.

“I mean, I don’t really care?” Inwardly, Bella punches herself because she can’t seem to stop the waves of awkwardness flowing out of herself. Even if Rosalie was just mildly predisposed to interacting with her, Bella has to go and ruin it by putting her foot in her mouth.

“Really. Well, neither do I, so your move, Bella.” Rosalie repostes elegantly and perfectly, the complete opposite of Bella in every way possible.

“Well, uh, I was wondering why I’m celebrating my birthday with you guys and not Charlie?” Bella offers uncertainly, “Not that I have anything against your family, of course. I just don’t know where I fit into all of that.”

Rosalie seems to mull over her answer for a moment before responding, thinking over her words and releasing them carefully, “I am, well, not entirely sure how to answer that. How much do you remember about us?”

Bella thinks over the question before answering honestly, “Not much, really. You guys were that weird family in the cafeteria, the Collins I think? There was something about..." Cheeks flushing, Bella claps her hand over her mouth as she realizes, “Oh my god, you guys are all dating each other, right? Like, you’re with Emmett and Alice and Jasper are together and-”

“Not quite,” Rosalie cuts Bella off hastily, “Alice and Jasper are together, but Emmett and I are just friends. We’ve only ever been friends, but people make assumptions and I don’t care enough to correct them. And also, we’re the Cullens. Jasper and I go by Hale, though.”

“Oh. Right. The Cullens.” Falling silent, Bella doesn’t know what to say. Instead, she begins to fidget slightly in uncomfortable silence before Rosalie lays her hand gently on Bella’s thigh to calm her. Her blush intensifies exponentially at that, but she doesn’t make a sound. (Bella is very proud of that.)

Instead of responding verbally, Rosalie nods tightly. Rosalie’s response makes Bella suddenly feel incredibly awkward, as if her blurt-out statement had somehow crossed a line she didn’t even know existed. 

She shakes off the strange feelings bubbling up in her and asks, “So how did I come to celebrate my birthday party with the beautiful antisocial family that made everybody wonder if they wanted to be your friends or just be you?”

Her question doesn’t receive an immediate answer, Rosalie obviously contemplating her response, and Bella has never wished harder for there to be light. She would like nothing better than to be able to see how her probing is affecting Rosalie. Bella chalks it up to Rosalie being the one to stand up for her after massive trauma, but she really doesn’t know why she feels such a need to experience the statuesque vampire’s approval.

“Well, you are our friend,” Rosalie explains cautiously, “So naturally we are close. I will admit that Alice and Edward were more enthusiastic about the party, but we all wanted to celebrate your birthday.”

Although Rosalie’s answer is helpful, it is not nearly helpful enough. “But why do that if I didn’t want to celebrate in the first place?”

“Edward and Alice can be...convincing.”

Bella snorts. They seem like the people used to getting their way. She can understand why past-Bella would be so willing to accede to their wishes, however. If she had friends like them, she would probably want to go along with whatever they wanted, too. They are just so...alluring.

“Am I just friends with you guys? Nothing else going on? Edward looked like he was going to say something before Alice stopped him.” Bella presses on insistently. She just knows that something is being hidden from her, but she can’t figure out what it is, and it really bothers her.

She can’t see Rosalie’s reaction in the dark, but something about her countenance seems to shift. Bella doesn’t hear anything, but something tells her that Rosalie is communicating with someone. Somehow. This blasted telepathy is really getting to her, and Bella wonders why they don’t even bother trying it with her. Is it a vampire only kind of thing?

Finally, Rosalie begins to reply slowly, “You are closer to some of us than others, obviously, but we’re all quite fond of you.”

Bella lets out a huff, fond of her? It sounds like they think of her as some kind of pet or something. Certainly not a close friend or anything of the like. “Close to anyone in particular?”

Another telling pause follows Bella’s question before Rosalie answers, an unidentifiable lilt to her voice, “Yes. But I am not telling you who or how. Alice would kill me if I did.”

That does not surprise Bella in the least. Alice seems like exactly the kind of person to do that if someone spilled something they weren’t supposed to. She opens her mouth to ask for more details, but suddenly Bella feels incredibly tired and the work blacks out.

It’s not until Bella is being shaken awake once more that she finds the routine getting old. Her beautiful sleep has been interrupted all for the sake of her health and Bella makes her discontent known, clumsily batting at whatever surface of Rosalie she can find. Bella understands that periodic checkups do more good than harm and it’s better to be safe than sorry, but she is really tired. She just wants to sleep.

Catching Bella’s hands easily before they can assault more of her body, Rosalie lets out a sparkling laugh. Before Bella can open her mouth, Rosalie begins to speak, “You seem fine, you can go back to sleep. Sorry to disturb what looked to be a fascinating dream.”

Bella starts her retort before realizing that she is sprawled almost lengthwise across Rosalie’s lap and chooses to take the less confrontational route. “I’m not that tired right now.”

Her only response is a sigh.

Scrambling off of Rosalie’s lap, Bella finds herself once more seated on the bed, but this time opposite Rosalie so she can at least try to scrutinize her face as Bella asks probing questions. At least, that’s the plan. 

This time, however, Bella decides to revise her plan of attack. She knows Rosalie is hiding things from her, but if Bella goes straight towards her target, Rosalie won’t budge. Instead, Bella is going to take a long path so meandering that Rosalie won’t even notice until she’s given Bella all the information she wants.

“So..." Bella begins.

“So..." Rosalie parrots.

Bella purses her lips. It seems Rosalie isn’t quite ready to fall into her trap. It’s okay, though. Bella just needs to ease her into spilling all of her deepest darkest secrets. “What do you like to do in your free time?”

She can’t quite tell due to the darkness, but Bella is fairly certain that Rosalie stares blankly at her in response. Otherwise Rosalie has no outward reaction to her words and she just doesn’t want to accept that.

Just as Bella is beginning to fear that Rosalie won’t even bother to respond, Rosalie proves her wrong. “Cars. I’m a mechanic. I like to fix and upgrade cars.”

Her words stun Bella. She would have never expected someone as seemingly feminine as Rosalie to be interested in cars of all things. Not that it’s wrong in any way, simply that Bella didn’t really see it coming. It doesn’t change her opinion of Rosalie, though. If anything, Bella’s estimation of her only increases with the revelation. “Oh wow. That’s really cool. So you must think my truck is like a crime against humanity or something.”

“It’s a crime against something.” Bella can practically feel that eye-roll from Rosalie’s response.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Not your fault, Bella. Besides, I fixed it for you. It was your birthday gift.”

This time, Bella’s “Oh,” comes in a different tone. She doesn’t mean to be as excited as she is at the mention of her newly spruced up truck, but there’s just something about thoughtful and practical gifts that really make her swoon. 

Despite surprising her at every turn, the more Rosalie reveals, the clearer the picture Bella is painting in her head of the strangely enigmatic blonde becomes. Although Rosalie appears cold and untouchable to the outside observer, Bella knows that she cares deeply about her interests and will intensely defend anyone or any cause she believes in. Moreover, Rosalie has an incredible sense of self and does not let others dictate how she should act. Bella finds it all incredibly inspiring, and she wonders if Rosalie’s strength is due to her being a vampire. Would human-Rosalie be the same as the Rosalie she knows now?

“Just oh?”

If Bella were even twenty percent more awake and thus more sure in her cognitive abilities, she would swear that Rosalie’s voice has taken on a teasing lilt.

“It’s a really cool gift. Thank you for that.” Bella tries to let as much appreciation seep into her voice as possible. She’s not just thanking Rosalie for her truck; she’s thanking her for everything Rosalie has done for her since her unpleasant mental reorganization.

“It was nothing.” Rosalie seems to wave her hand carelessly, “I just tried to help you in whatever ways I could. Plus, your truck was a deathtrap. It was my moral obligation to ensure you didn’t die from it.”

No matter how aloof Rosalie attempts to appear, Bella sees through it easily. More than anything, Rosalie cares. “It might’ve been nothing for you, but it means a lot to me. Thank you.”

“Of course.”

This moment of vulnerability is too good to be passed up on, although Bella hates to take advantage of Rosalie’s heart. “So, do vampires typically get so close to humans like you guys?”

A telling silence follows Bella’s question, and she could swear that Rosalie is talking to someone, even if there are no outward signs of it happening.

“No. Not really.” There is a pain to Rosalie’s voice, something barely discernible unless one listened as closely as Bella did. 

“Oh.”

Just as Bella is able to sense Rosalie’s discomfort, so too it seems Rosalie is able to sense Bella’s because instead of verbally responding, Rosalie shifts over on the bed until she is sitting beside Bella. Grasping her hand gently, Rosalie reassures Bella calmly, “Our family is different from most vampires. We don’t feed on human blood, and we try to live our lives as normally as possible with humans. Despite that, we usually don’t make close connections because of our secret and the fact that humans generally sense danger from us. We live forever, but we’re not really living. You, however, never let that stop you from enjoying our company. We appreciate that more than you could ever understand.” As she talks, Rosalie rubs her thumb in soothing circles atop Bella’s hand. It should not be nearly as distracting as it somehow is.

With the way Rosalie speaks, Bella is able to better understand the earlier behavior of the strange vampire family she finds herself in the company of. It is a tragedy, to go through eternity without ever being able to forge meaningful connections with anyone beyond your immediate family. Bella wants nothing more than to reach out and embrace Rosalie, for living through so much and still maintaining hope for a normal life, and for speaking out on her behalf. The hand on Bella’s is a calming pressure, grounding her into reality and ensuring she doesn’t do anything rash like hug Rosalie, no matter how much she would like to. Not to mention, she still wants to push Rosalie for more information, even at the risk of ruining the mood.

As if sensing Bella’s inner turmoil, Rosalie sighs audibly before elaborating, “You had an intimate relationship with one of us—shut up Edward. Alice doesn’t want us to tell you because she doesn’t want to unduly affect your future which makes some sort of sense I suppose. She wants the rest of your life to be natural, without any of us forcing it on you.”

“That makes sense I guess,” Bella pauses, thinking over Rosalie’s snap at Edward, “But why does Edward keep butting his head into my business?”

Either Bella is really far too tired, or her head trauma is really getting to her because it looks like Rosalie is simply staring intensely at the wall slightly to the left of Bella. In turn, Bella glances as subtly as she can at Rosalie but is unable to discern anything worthwhile. Maybe she’s communicating telepathically with someone again.

All of this supernatural nonsense is really grating on Bella’s nerves, but she isn’t sure how to go about complaining without sounding like an asshole. _Hey, sorry I feel left out because you magic vampires can talk to each other telepathically, thus leaving me out of the loop and feeling very insecure about it?_ Bella snorts. That’s one way to make friends.

Rosalie’s head whips around at Bella’s inelegant utterance, her telepathic communications momentarily diverted as she stares questioningly at Bella. At least, that’s what Bella thinks she’s doing. She really can’t tell very much with the fact that it’s the middle of the night and this entire house is apparently made of glass.

“I’m dating one of you?”

Rosalie nods tightly.

“And you can’t tell me who it is.”

Rosalie shakes her head.

“At least please tell me if it’s Edward.”

Something in Rosalie’s face changes, although Bella cannot identify if it is positive or negative. She isn’t sure she wants to know, but Rosalie appears to be deliberating her response. Bella chooses to believe it is because she doesn’t want to risk her future by giving her excess information, but a small, traitorous part of her tells her it is because _Edward_ was the one she was having an ‘intimate relationship’ with.

After a painfully long period of deliberation with a likely side of silent communication, Rosalie seems to make up her mind.

Bella lets out a harsh exhale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See y'all next week. Hopefully.


	4. world's best girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The inevitable continuation of the story...

After the extremely suspenseful but incredibly relieving (although she doesn’t know why) reveal that she, Isabella Marie Swan is not, in fact, dating Edward Cullen, Bella feels as if a great weight has just been lifted off her shoulders.

It is nothing against Edward, who seems like a fairly attractive guy if it wasn’t for his ridiculous insistence on acting like a perpetually teenage emo, but Bella just doesn’t really want to be dating him. And she’s not. Anymore, if she ever was. She’s a bit confused with how the rest of the Cullen family are planning to manage their relationships. Do they just want to be friends? Ease her back into a relationship with whoever she was dating? Bella isn’t even sure she wants to know.

Although it still means Bella is dating one of the Cullens, and she doesn’t know who. Process of elimination means that it must be either Emmett or Rosalie, but Bella never imagined herself to be in a relationship with a _woman_ before. Not that there is anything wrong with that. She just never thought she would be that kind of person.

Yet, Bella muses, Emmett doesn’t really seem like her type, and he barely interacted with her after she woke up beyond supporting Rosalie’s crusade for her well-being. While sweet, he showed no signs of being in a _romantic relationship_ with her. You would think that if they were really in a relationship, he would have been far more vocal about her overall health.

On the other hand, Rosalie has shown literally all of the signs. Abject horror at the thought of Bella’s health placed behind keeping a vampiric secret, a staunch defense for her personal well-being, not to mention her patience and dedication to easing Bella’s overnight stay. Plus, the handholding, which was some of the most comforting physical contact Bella could remember in a long time. And her body seemed quite content to snuggle up to Rosalie in her sleep. 

All the signs are pointed towards the inevitable conclusion, and Bella can’t believe she didn’t see it sooner. Somehow, in the past eight or so months since arriving in Forks Washington, Bella Swan had fallen in love with Rosalie Hale.

Bella thinks she might just faint at the revelation yet somehow sensing her growing apprehension, Rosalie easily diverts her attention, “It’s about ten past five, if you’d like to go back to sleep.”

Now that Rosalie mentions it, Bella is quite tired. She nods, even if Rosalie can’t see in the darkness, and lays down on the bed. It’s a really nice bed. Being immortal seems to have a few perks at least, Bella thinks, if they can have beds like these. Then Bella remembers that vampires don’t sleep, and she feels momentarily sad for the Cullens’ loss before she herself falls into the arms of Morpheus once more.

The next time Bella is awoken, sunlight is streaming through glass windows. Rosalie remains a comforting weight on the bed as she speaks, “Rise and shine. Again.”

It is still irritating to be roused from her sleep for the ‘good of her health’, but Bella is willing to admit that she wouldn’t mind all that much if Rosalie was the one doing the rousing. There is just something about being taken from sleep to the sight of a literal angel that washes away all of Bella’s annoyance with one easy wave. Mostly.

Once more, Rosalie examines Bella before nodding to herself, “You’re clear for more sleep, if you’d like.”

Attempting to open her eyes, Bella recoils at the burst of light assaulting her eyeballs. She shuts her eyes instantly and groans, “Out of all the days it could possibly be sunny here...there’s too much sun for this.”

“Yes, well, we’re not the biggest fans of that either.” Amusement is clear in Rosalie’s tone and Bella nods, barely comprehending. Rosalie doesn’t say anything more, clearly waiting for something.

Eyes flying open as she puts the pieces together, Bella jolts up on the bed and turns towards where she thinks Rosalie is to see what she means. 

Her gasp rings throughout the room as Bella reassures herself that heavenly beings aren’t actually real. Despite the reassurance, her eyes supply a stunning argument to her mind as Bella gazes at Rosalie’s wondrously glittering skin. Under the broad daylight, Bella knows her eyes cannot be deceiving her, but knowing and believing are two separate things entirely.

It is as if Rosalie is made of diamond with a million shining facets, sunlight bouncing off her skin in sparkling rays. As if she needs more assurance that Rosalie was sent from the gods, she has to go and be made of literal diamond. Bella doesn’t think it possible for words to encompass the sheer beauty of Rosalie in this moment, but she finds it completely unnecessary to try and define what she can barely comprehend.

“Are you okay, Bella? You’ve been staring for a while..."

More than anything, it is the concern lacing through Rosalie’s words that push Bella out of her trance. She sounds genuinely confused about why Bella is stunned into silence, and it is the humility, paired with Rosalie’s sheer conviction to be a good person that helps Bella understand how she fell in love with her.

“Yeah,” Bella doesn’t even have to try forcing her smile; it comes naturally, far more easily than she would have expected, “Just didn’t expect the, uh, sparkles.”

Rosalie smiles in turn at Bella’s comment, shaking her head ruefully, “It’s something to get used to, isn’t it?” She gestures down her body carelessly.

Bella would probably feel bad about the way she is basically ogling Rosalie’s body, but she supposes the hand gesture was something of an invitation. She thinks. Plus, Rosalie is obviously comfortable with her, if their previous relationship status means anything, even if Bella isn’t.

“Definitely,” she agrees, “But I like it.”

“That makes one of us, I suppose.” Despite her calm demeanor, Bella can feel traces of bitterness coloring Rosalie’s tone. With a wince, she realizes that having skin functioning as a bona fide light show probably makes it hard to keep attention off of oneself. Especially in sunny environments. It definitely sucks to be limited to living without the sun.

Instead of continuing on that tangent, Rosalie chooses to change the subject, offering, “Well, you must be hungry. Esme is already preparing breakfast for you if you’d like to go down to the kitchen?”

Accepting the offer gratefully, Bella nods, gesturing for Rosalie to lead the way. As they go down the stairs, Bella is able to appreciate the rest of the Cullen house. It’s a beautiful piece of architecture, all stone and glass with tasteful wood accents. It looks like something that came directly out of Architectural Digest, a calm pool of serenity with the occasional ripple of disturbance to assure her that the Cullens do in fact live in their house. Bookcases stuffed full of books, plants hugging windowsills, and the truly massive collection of video games all prove that no matter how immortal a family can get, they are still people.

“Nice, uh, diploma collection,” Bella comments, “Do that often?”

Rosalie’s response is equal parts deprecating and resentful, “All the time. It’s basically our life now. Kind of hard to do anything else when you permanently look eighteen.” She looks as if she’d like to continue, but instead stops when they reach the kitchen where the rest of the family is gathered around the island.

“Bella!” Esme exclaims the moment she catches sight of her, “You’re up! And you look good! I made breakfast, here, have some. Tell me how it tastes!” 

A plate is unceremoniously shoved towards the only empty spot on the island and Esme motions for Bella to sit. Uncertainly, she does so, noting that none of the other Cullens have food in front of them. Her plate, on the other hand, is piled full of enough food to feed a small army. Or an Emmett, she thinks. Bella slowly begins to eat, watching as the rest of the vampires seem intently focused on her. While she’s eating. It is disconcerting, to say the least.

“You all, uh, ate already?” Bella jokes carefully, “This isn’t poisoned, is it?”

The Cullens stare blankly at each other before Alice explains, “Vampires don’t eat, Bella. Normal food just tastes like ash.”

“Right, sorry.” She feels bad about bringing up a possibly sore subject but continues eating. For someone who can’t eat, Esme is a fantastic cook. She makes her opinion known, and Esme smiles brightly back at her.

“Thank you, Bella. It’s good to know that at least someone appreciates my cooking.”

Smiling tightly, Bella nods before returning to her food. The awkwardness is rolling off of her in waves as the rest of the Cullens continue to stare at her, even Rosalie watching as Bella puts forkful after forkful of food in her mouth.

Finishing as quickly as she can, Bella pushes her plate away and stands up, “Well, thanks for everything, but I feel pretty fine now, and I should get home.”

Esme nods understandingly, “Of course. Why don’t you just let Carlisle check you out real quick just in case and then someone can drive you home.”

“Sure.”

Just as Bella finishes speaking, Carlisle appears before her in a flash. He kisses Esme gently before moving over to Bella and going through some basic questions and procedures. The examination is over quickly and Carlisle clears her, but not before mentioning, “You should be fine, but I think it would be a good idea to have someone check up on you every now and then. Nothing extreme or intense, but we should keep you under watch for the next few days. Not to mention, you could probably use the help in case you forget anything important.”

“That makes sense.” Bella is barely able to finish before Edward opens his mouth. Stopping him in his tracks, Bella beats him to the punch, “Do you want to come over Rosalie? And drive me home, too.”

Ignoring the vaguely stunned looks the rest of the Cullens are sporting, Rosalie agrees. “Of course, Bella. Let me just get my car ready and we can head right over.”

Instead of walking to her car like a normal human, Rosalie’s body moves in a blur as she flashes out of the house. Bella is momentarily taken aback before she hears a loud rumble from outside. Walking over, she sees Rosalie, decked out with a gorgeous silken scarf covering her head and large, ostentatious sunglasses perched on her face. Rosalie waves from the driver’s seat of a cherry red convertible, top pulled down. She looks every bit the consummate rich girl with a perfect life and Bella can’t believe that someone like Rosalie would fall for someone like her.

It’s not that Bella doesn’t like herself, or doesn’t think she’s worth loving, but she just thinks she’s a bit, well, boring. Rosalie is an immortal vampire who is perfect in every way, so why isn’t she with another, equally perfect and immortal vampire? What drew Rosalie to someone like Bella, who lives a bland and quiet life with nothing special about her? It just doesn’t make sense, but Bella knows it’s not exactly time to bring the subject up. She’ll just have to see what Rosalie is planning to do with her. The very fact that the Cullens haven’t disappeared and left Bella to think it a figment of her imagination proves that Rosalie is at least interested in keeping some kind of relationship with her, isn’t it?

As Bella slips into Rosalie’s car, the blonde shoots her a quick but seemingly genuine smile before backing out of the driveway with astonishing speed. It’s like her foot is made of literal lead as she slams down on the pedal and they’re off.

Shouting over the wind formed by Rosalie’s attempts at drag racing, Bella makes her discomfort at the speeding known, “Your car is really fast!” Or at least, she tries to. The wind cuts her off, and she doesn’t know how to express the sheer fear she feels as Rosalie breaks speed limit after speed limit.

“I know. It’s great, isn’t it? I upgraded it myself!” Rosalie shouts back, her voice crystal clear despite the rushing wind.

“...That’s great!” Bella replies because Rosalie sounds quite proud of her car. She supposes it’s nice enough, and if she was an immortal vampire who would not die in a high-speed collision, then it would probably be pretty nice too. That’s what girlfriends do, anyways. Support each other’s interests.

“Yeah! I’m looking at new engines because this one is pretty old, but otherwise this car is running at peak performance!” The pride in Rosalie’s voice is unmistakable, and Bella finds it absurdly endearing. On the surface, Rosalie is the picture of pretentious perfection, but as Bella peels away layer after layer of her, she finds herself with a beautifully complex person she would love to spend the rest of her life with.

“That’s amazing!”

“Thanks!”

Bella wants to speak more on the subject because Rosalie simply looks so pleased to talk about her passion, but the car is stopping, and Rosalie kills the engine before turning expectantly to Bella. Somehow, they have already arrived home, most likely thanks to the multitude of traffic laws Rosalie broke on their way over. Meeting Rosalie’s gaze, Bella lets out a nervous smile, “Well, this is me.”

“It is.” 

It’s frustrating, Bella thinks, that Rosalie has such an inscrutable facade. Just when Bella thinks she knows what Rosalie is thinking about her, Rosalie turns around and plays a game of hot and cold with Bella’s mind. She thinks she can see the cracks on Rosalie’s stony exterior, but they aren’t appearing fast enough for her to make use of them. Or even catch them, sometimes.

Remembering how Rosalie was able to sense Bella’s own emotions with ease, Bella wonders if she was ever so fine-tuned to Rosalie’s moods. Were their past interactions the one-way street they currently are? Or had Past-Bella managed to peel back Rosalie’s many layers to reveal the person behind the mask?

“I have to, uh, do some homework.” Bella says, regret coloring her tone. The invitation is there, but she doesn’t know if Rosalie will pick up on it. Or take her up on the offer.

“I can help, if you want. I’m a straight A student dozens of times over.” Who is Bella to doubt someone as perfect as Rosalie Hale? Of course she picks up on the offer, and she even goes so far as to continue giving Bella control over the course of their interactions. Her thoughtfulness is astounding, but gradually less surprising the more Rosalie proves her consideration.

Smiling gratefully at Rosalie, Bella accepts, “Great. I’m pretty sure I get most of the stuff, but some company would be nice.”

“Of course.” Rosalie steps out of her car and makes her way to Bella’s side, opening the door before Bella can even touch the handle. She gestures for Bella to get out, letting out a soft smile at Bella’s muttered thanks. “After you, then.”

This brief display of gallantry causes Bella to fumble with her keys, but thankfully Rosalie doesn’t seem to notice. Or mind. Bella chooses to believe it is the former at the risk of losing her nerve. 

Eventually Bella opens the door with a slight flourish. This time, she is the one gesturing for Rosalie to enter first, “Ladies first.”

Raising her head in a haughty display, Rosalie shoots Bella a smirk before walking in, “As it should be.”

Heartwarming at the playful display, Bella follows Rosalie into her house, shutting the door with quick push. She points up the stairway, fidgeting slightly as she remembers where her work is. “So, uh, my stuff is in my room, if you want to come up.”

Rosalie doesn’t answer verbally, simply waving her hand for Bella to lead the way.

When they enter her room, Bella feels self-conscious as she notes the relative state of imperfection her room is in compared to the pristine Cullen house. Her room is clean enough, she supposes, but it is also relatively plain. Ordinary. Nothing like the architectural wet dream that is the Cullen home. 

Rosalie, however, doesn’t seem to mind. She gives the room a quick once over before speaking, “You have a nice room, Bella. The corkboard is beautiful.”

At once, Bella’s worries are washed away by Rosalie’s simple words. “Thanks. It’s, uh, pretty much a collection of every creative thing I’ve ever done in Forks.”

As she speaks, Rosalie turns to face Bella, holding eye contact firmly. “It’s charming. It reflects your life and creativity beautifully.”

Bella blushes, turning her head slightly at the compliment. It confuses her, that such an ordinary compliment can fluster her so, but Bella knows it’s not the words so much as the speaker that throws her off balance. No matter how hard she tries to convince herself that she deserves such praise, Bella can’t get it out of her head that someone like Rosalie could be impressed with her. Simple, plain, Bella Swan. “Thank you,” Bella manages, “That means a lot.”

“It’s true,” Rosalie returns, and the subject seems to be closed as Rosalie nods towards Bella’s stack of schoolwork, “You have to do all that?”

“Uh, yeah. I guess.” Bella doesn’t remember having such a large pile of work to do, but she supposes if she was busy preparing for her birthday party with a family of vampires, she wouldn’t exactly be spending all her time on homework, either. “I’ll get on that.”

While Bella starts on her schoolwork, Rosalie wanders briefly around her room before settling on her bed, “Can I sit here?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Time passes easily as Bella gets into the groove of things, occasionally tossing out comments and having Rosalie respond quickly with witty retorts. Her mind is fascinating, Bella decides, after she asks for help on a physics problem and Rosalie asks, “Why do you need velocity when calculating position?

“Huh?”

“Because it’s an _integral_ part of the process.”

“Huh.”

Rosalie insists that Bella take frequent breaks so as to not overexert herself, which Bella would resent if it weren’t for Rosalie’s stellar companionship. In the off time, Rosalie continues to deliver excellent puns and one-liners along with thrilling conversation. It is genuinely a delight, especially when Rosalie smiles that cute, self-satisfied smirk whenever she makes a particularly clever remark.

It’s easy, Bella realizes. Her and Rosalie work together so fluidly, it’s like they’ve known each other for an eternity even when Bella has no recollection of any past interactions. Simply being in Rosalie’s company is comforting in a way that Bella has never remembered feeling before. It doesn’t matter how hard of an exterior Rosalie chooses to maintain because around Bella, she seems to just quietly let it fall away.

Before she knows it, dusk is falling, and Charlie is back with an early dinner. Somehow, she worked all the way through lunch, a fact that Bella’s stomach makes clear when it lets out a loud rumble. It is mildly embarrassing, but Rosalie doesn’t seem phased. Looking questioningly at Rosalie, Bella stares pointedly until the other woman gets the hint.

“Should I stay?”

“Of course.”

Calling out on her way to the kitchen, Bella tells Charlie that Rosalie will be staying for dinner. Charlie takes one look at Rosalie before muttering to himself, “At least it’s not Edward.” 

Bella catches the snort Rosalie quickly stifles at his comment but chooses not to bring it up. Charlie graciously offers to go out to get more food for her, but Rosalie declines with a regretful smile, “I’m on a diet.”

Charlie makes as if to insist that Rosalie at least eat something, but Rosalie is quick to offer, “I’ll have a little bit, I guess. Just not too much.”

“Alright, Rosalie,” Charlie accepts, “But it beats me why a pretty girl like yourself needs to go on a diet.”

“Thank you, Mr. Swan, but it’s for my own health. Nothing about weight loss, just keeping myself in the best condition possible.”

Although Bella is sure Charlie wants to question Rosalie further, he lets the matter be, for which she is eternally grateful. No need to explain that Rosalie isn’t eating because she actually lives off the blood of others. “Here, you can have some of mine,” Bella offers, “Esme cooked way too much for breakfast, anyways.”

Rosalie accepts the food with a grimace, something Bella hopes only she notices. Slowly, Rosalie cuts her food into small pieces before carefully spearing bites onto a fork and bringing it to her mouth with a wince. Every swallow is accompanied by an adorable scrunch in her face, but she perseveres. She eats slower than a sloth, while Bella and Charlie both tuck in with gusto, but she perseveres.

While Rosalie struggles with her food, Charlie comments, “Esme sure knows how to cook, doesn’t she? Three growing teenage boys, can’t imagine how much food she makes, right?”

Letting out a pained smile, Rosalie nods and continues eating. By the time both Bella and Charlie are done, Rosalie has managed to consume about half her plate, which was already about a quarter the size of Bella’s.

“Weren’t kidding about the diet, were you?”

“No, sir,” Rosalie shakes her head, “I really shouldn’t be eating too much out of it, otherwise I just have to start over.”

“Please, call me Charlie. None of this sir business.”

“Alright, then.”

As Rosalie swallows another forkful, hiding her wince with her napkin, Bella’s heart swells until it nearly bursts. Rosalie doesn’t have to do this. She doesn’t have to sit at their dinner table, making idle conversation with Charlie about food that she shouldn’t be eating as she eats the food she shouldn’t be eating, all to support her guise of humanity with Bella’s dad. Rosalie doesn’t have to do this, but she does, and Bella can only assume why. 

Once Rosalie is done and Charlie begins clearing the plates, dismissing Bella’s offer for help, Rosalie points to her plate, shaking her head and miming a gag. She then winks at Bella and Bella knows exactly why Rosalie is doing this. She’s doing it for Bella.

Charlie asks if they want to watch the hockey game, but Bella declines, instead telling him that they’ll be in her room. He waves them off easily, focused on his sportsball and Bella quickly finds herself alone with Rosalie. This time, there is no invisible homework barrier to provide conversation. Just her and Rosalie, alone in her room.

“So.” Bella begins.

“So.” Rosalie returns, smiling.

“It’s, uh kind of late.” It’s really not late at all. In fact, it’s not even eight o’clock, but Bella doesn’t really know how to segue into any other topic.

“Sure.” Rosalie agrees.

“Do you wanna, uh, do something?” Inwardly, Bella is dying. Both from the awkwardness and also the fact that her offer is totally not smooth. How Rosalie doesn’t think she’s a loser is beyond her.

“Are you offering?”

Suddenly, it hits Bella. She may be completely out of her depth, but Rosalie is surely not in a much better position. Even if Bella wants Rosalie (which she’s not a hundred percent sure about, but she can definitely see it), Rosalie also wants her. Sure, Rosalie is a smart, beautiful, immortal vampire who can have anybody in the world, but she wants Bella. They are both working to build something, and Rosalie has to be feeling some insecurity as well. She has to, otherwise Bella will surely die of embarrassment on the spot.

“Yeah. We can watch a movie or something if that’s okay with you.”

“Sounds wonderful, Bella.” Either Bella is imagining things, or Rosalie’s voice takes on a completely different pitch when she says that and yep, Rosalie totally wants her. She better not be imagining things. 

They are going to have such good mood lighting Bella thinks as she closes the lights and settles on her bed, laptop ready. She hopes Rosalie isn’t a picky movie watcher because Bella sees that Charlie’s Angels is on Netflix and clicks on it immediately. She pats the side of her bed for Rosalie to settle in, but Rosalie has to go and point out, “You did just have some major head trauma. Maybe a dark room and flashing lights isn’t the best combination.”

The concern is sweet, but it’s also killing the mood. Bella rolls her eyes, cursing Rosalie’s ridiculous desire to be sweet and caring. “Sure, whatever. I’ll tell you if I feel off, okay? I feel fine right now, though.”

Thinking over her response, Rosalie doesn’t reply. Just as Bella is beginning to fear the worst, Rosalie lets out a nod, “Tell me if anything even seems off, alright? Even if it seems like nothing, you have to tell me.”

“Yes, boss.” Bella salutes sarcastically before pulling Rosalie gently towards her. She then snuggles into her comforter, waiting until Rosalie is properly situated before starting the movie.

Charlie’s Angels is supposed to be interesting, but Bella wouldn’t know because before the first scene is over, all she can notice is Rosalie. Rosalie who is barely breathing beside her, sitting almost as still as a statue while Bella struggles with her comforter until she is properly cocooned. Rosalie who smells like vanilla and car grease, a combination which shouldn’t set Bella’s heart aflutter but absolutely does. Rosalie who is soft and kind and apparently madly in love with her. Bella is so consumed with her thoughts that by the time the second scene rolls around, the only thing she can focus on is Rosalie. She doesn’t even notice when her eyes begin to drop and her head drops towards Rosalie until she is out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I realize that my chapter note last week was a bit cryptic, so a little bit of explanation is probably in order. School has just started to really pick up for me and it is, well, really stressful. I am going to continue this story, obviously, but I might start updating on a biweekly basis in accordance with my school stuff. Anyways, if you like this chapter (or this fic) kudos and comments are always appreciated.


	5. immortal vampires have feelings too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Featuring a pov switch because Bella is not the only gay disaster in this relationship. Rose is just as much, if not more of a disaster. She just hides it behind sexy cars and being cool all the time.

To be clear, no matter how much Edward chooses to dispute the point in the future, Rosalie has no idea why Bella seems so attached to her. Even more surprising, she doesn’t hate it. Emmett will make jokes, Edward will scowl, and Alice will look on with an uneasy smile, but Rosalie genuinely doesn’t know. And she won’t ask herself why. She is content to simply take what Bella has to offer.

After all, it can’t possibly be that confusing, right? Rosalie doesn’t bother staying up to date on medical progress, and human psychology has never interested her, but vampires have a lot of time. So much time that she has basically dabbled in every field at least once. Unfortunately, there are very few resources on amnesia, and almost nothing on cases like Bella’s. Rosalie has no precedent to base her behavior on, but she can only assume that it has something to do with Bella’s emotional vulnerability after such a traumatizing event. That, coupled with Rosalie’s staunch defense of Bella’s health was probably very meaningful to a Bella Swan who didn’t remember a thing about her life in the past eight months. Rosalie was certainly in a similar stage of imprinting after her change.

Her logic makes sense as supernaturally brilliant logic is wont to do, but it doesn’t explain Bella’s strange behavior throughout the day and last night. Her questions were a completely unsubtle attempt at mining information, but Rosalie didn’t mind. What she did mind were Edward and Alice’s completely unnecessary interjections and commentary throughout the whole affair.

The entire time Bella was asking questions, Edward was complaining about Rosalie’s words before they even came out of her mouth, ordering her to tell Bella whatever nonsense his century old teenage brain cooked up, or telling Rosalie not to answer. Naturally, Rosalie ignored everything he said and did whatever she felt like. Which led to more complaining. It was an unfortunately vicious cycle, but Rosalie has no regrets.

Alice was mercifully more restrained with her presence, only interjecting whenever she felt Rosalie was about to reveal too much, but it was still irritating. Rosalie has never taken well to being told what to do. Plus, she still doesn’t understand the nebulous future Alice is so bent on preserving.

What Rosalie does support is Bella’s choice. She supposes the fact that Edward was dating Bella before the accident does give him some leeway, but Bella also has no idea about any of that. It means his insistence on telling Bella about their relationship and his clear desire to pressure her into resuming it is completely unwelcome and Rosalie is willing to stake everything on protecting Bella’s autonomy.

Rosalie has many concerns about allowing a human to know so much about her family, but Edward had already screwed up by throwing her into a wall and then they all started talking about their vampirism. Absolutely none of it was Bella’s fault, aside from maybe getting caught up with her family in the first place. But humans aren’t known for their strength of will. She may be twisted up in an entanglement of supernatural proportions, but none of it is her fault. It doesn’t mean Rosalie doesn’t still have reservations, but she refuses to lay the blame on Bella for entering a relationship with Edward’s melodramatic self.

If Edward wants to continue his relationship with Bella, Rosalie has no qualms with allowing him to work for affection again. However, Bella seems to have no interest in any of his affections at the moment, and Rosalie is content to support her decisions. If Bella wants nothing to do with Edward and his honestly fairly creepy behavior, then that’s entirely between them.

Rosalie does feel slightly conflicted about telling Bella that she was not dating Edward, but the desperation in her voice when she voiced the question was so compelling. Bella clearly didn’t want a yes, and Rosalie could only oblige her. She wonders if she made the right choice, but neither Alice, nor Edward can judge her—Rosalie had shaken her head on instinct, too quickly for either Alice or Edward to catch up. Besides, Edward was being particularly annoying when Bella asked her. If the two of them are really meant to be, Rosalie reasons, then they will find their way together anyways. Her interference will mean nothing in the long run.

None of Rosalie’s logic prepares her for Bella’s behavior throughout the day, or Rosalie’s response to it. After the tidbit on her past-self’s dating life, Bella seems to have relaxed entirely around Rosalie. The change is not unwelcome, but Rosalie is not prepared for how it affects her. Or Edward, because despite her insistence on privacy, Edward and Alice chose to tag along for the day at the Swan house. Their lack of boundaries is extremely irritating, a sentiment both Emmett and Jasper share with her, but neither Edward nor Alice seem to care.

In order to combat the Wonder Twins’ nosiness, Rosalie has taken to singing through Britney Spears’ entire discography in her head to ward off Edward’s probing, which has been fairly effective to say the least. He scowls whenever he looks at her and Rosalie takes it as a win. She also tries not to think about any of her decisions, letting her instincts guide her. Although an effective countermeasure to Alice’s foresight, it does lead to some unforeseen consequences.

Rosalie finds her stone-cold facade falling away at inopportune moments, letting her shield drop to reveal parts of herself she didn’t even know she was hiding. Rosalie would probably find more issue with it, except Bella seems so genuinely delighted whenever Rosalie lets something slip that she doesn’t have the heart to slam down the walls. Said walls are far too easily infiltrated by Bella, Rosalie muses—not through her ineffectual probing, but the charming sweetness with which she goes through life.

It’s probably Bella’s charming sweetness that keeps Rosalie in her house, through the long homework session, through the absolutely terrible dinner (although not due to the company), through the movie, and through Bella falling asleep on her. Again. She seems to be making a habit of that. Again, not entirely unwelcome, but strange.

Rosalie should have made her excuses before Bella invited her up for the movie, but Bella had asked so quietly and shyly, as if she wasn’t sure if Rosalie would agree, and that had been all the convincing Rosalie needed. However, it means that Rosalie is now sat on Bella’s bed with a near comatose Bella cuddled up to her, the human’s entire body slumped against her.

The situation becomes even more distracting when Bella wraps her arms around Rosalie’s supernaturally stiff body and clamps down. It’s not uncomfortable, but Rosalie has no idea how to feel about it. By now, Edward and Alice have given up on intruding further than they already have (or Edward has given up on controlling himself after such an extended period near Bella’s scent) and left them in peace.

Now that Rosalie thinks about it, Bella’s scent is still as sweet and alluring as always, but she doesn’t feel any burning need to sink her fangs into Bella’s throat. She smells delicious as always, but Rosalie doesn’t want to eat her. Did her scent somehow change? It would probably be an interesting study, to see what medical conditions do to how appetizing a human is. But no, Rosalie shakes her head, Bella’s scent has only changed for her. Edward displayed the same lack of control around her as he always does, so clearly something changed between Bella and Rosalie alone.

The question requires further deliberation, but Rosalie is quickly distracted by Bella. Bella, who is sleeping. Bella, who moves around quite a lot in her sleep. Bella, who suddenly twists around and flops half of her body onto Rosalie. Along with about half of Bella’s bodyweight comes the realization that Rosalie is never leaving this bed while Bella is asleep. She could wake her, Rosalie muses, but she doesn’t think she can bring herself to disturb Bella. The human just looks so...peaceful.

The movie finishes, and the computer goes dark, but Rosalie is so fixated on Bella and all of her micro expressions as she sleeps that she barely realizes anything has changed. What she does notice is that Bella has once more shifted and is now sprawled almost entirely lengthwise onto her. The position looks extraordinarily uncomfortable, but Bella seems content to cling onto Rosalie. As Bella begins to snore, Rosalie finds that she really doesn’t have the heart to do anything but remain as comfortable a sleeping surface as possible. After everything she’s gone through, Bella needs the sleep. And it’s certainly not the worst way to spend a night.

Somewhere around midnight, Charlie knocks on the door before peeking his head in. Whatever he sees must satisfy him because the door is softly shut afterwards. Rosalie hears his footsteps pad down the hall and another door shut as he presumably goes to bed himself.

Time passes in a vacuum. Bella changes her sleeping position a couple more times, the only constant being that she stays firmly attached to Rosalie. The handsier Bella gets, the more Rosalie begins to accept her fate as a body pillow. Bella is surprisingly persistent in her sleep; she doesn’t let go and she refuses to leave Rosalie, despite the fact that Rosalie is sitting so far at the edge of the bed that she’s almost off it entirely. It’s like a heatseeking Bella except Rosalie maintains an extremely cold body temperature and- never mind. Rosalie dismisses the comparison because it makes absolutely no sense. Suffice to say, sleepy Bella really likes Rosalie.

To make matters worse, Bella is very grabby in her sleep. She’s all over Rosalie at different points in the night, and no matter how charmingly sweet awake-Bella is, all that charm and sweetness flies out the window the moment Bella falls asleep. Edward’s desire to be with Bella at all times makes so much more sense if this is what she’s like unconscious. There’s a lot of, well, touch. She also snores. And sleep talks. Rosalie isn’t able to discern much from Bella’s sleep-addled mumbling, but she does get snippets. Among them include: “-rlfriend”, “Roman goddess”, “from the sky”, and Rosalie’s personal favorite: “cool fangs”. Putting all of that together sounds like a fascinating research topic, but Rosalie is willing to let this one go. Mostly because she doesn’t want to know what will happen when she unpacks all of it.

Before she knows it, Bella’s heart rate begins to speed up and she begins to twitch more fitfully until deep brown eyes open. Blinking blearily up at Rosalie, Bella seems to just stare at her, not reacting in the haze of sleep. It’s almost cute, Rosalie supposes, tilting her head to stare back at Bella. “Have a good night’s sleep?”

“Wuuu-?”

“You’re looking awfully comfortable here.”

“Whaaa?”

Rosalie raises her eyebrow, choosing not to respond until Bella gets the hint.

In turn, Bella roles over slightly, moving her head left and right as her brain begins to wake up. She must put the pieces together eventually because Bella begins to blush, bolting up on the bed and determinedly avoiding Rosalie’s gaze.

The whole affair occurs in less than thirty seconds, and Rosalie relishes each and every one of them. At this point, she pretty much gives up on not admitting to herself that Bella is adorable. It doesn’t mean anything, just that she finds Bella’s company generally tolerable and oftentimes even enjoyable.

“So, how was your night?” Rosalie asks pointedly, delighting in Bella’s intensifying blush. At least if Bella is going to make her experience all of these strange feelings, she can repay the favor in kind.

“It was, uh, fine, thanks for asking,” Bella replies sheepishly, “How was yours?”

“It was good,” Rosalie replies, “I had such amazing company that it just kept on outdoing itself as the night went on.”

“...I slept through the whole night, didn’t I? And the movie?” At Rosalie’s nod, Bella groans, hiding her face in her hands, “God, that’s so embarrassing, I’m sorry I wasn’t a good host or anything. You must have been so bored.”

“It was nothing, Bella. You’ve been through a lot lately, and I was happy to spend the night with you. Even if you were somewhat comatose.”

Bella peeks back at Rosalie for assurance, “Are you sure about that?”

“Yes,” Rosalie promises, “I enjoyed myself. Not to mention, it meant I could make sure nothing happened to you.”

“Right,” Bella echoes, “My health. Forgot about that.” She blushes again.

Rosalie has no idea what it is about Bella Swan that makes her so charming, or draws Rosalie so intensely to her, but she’s finding that she doesn’t resent it half as much as she thought she would. It’s confusing, but not in a way that makes her want to lash out. It is, dare she say, good?

As Bella purses her lips and looks around, fidgeting in in the awkwardness that settles around them, Rosalie nods. It is good.

“So, uh, do you wanna stay for breakfast?”

Immediately, Rosalie backtracks on her decision. Her reluctance must show because Bella laughs lightly, “Right, forgot about that. No human food for the big bad vampire.”

“No, just humans.” Rosalie jokes before realizing that it is probably not in the greatest of tastes. She doesn’t say anything though, and Bella snorts. It seems her poor taste is appreciated by one person, at least.

“Right. Well, I’m kind of hungry, so if you’re not staying, then…” Bella trails off, gesturing helplessly. It’s clear that she wants to say more, but she doesn’t know how to get her point across. Rosalie gets it, but something tells her that certain members of her family won’t appreciate her extended stay at the Swan house.

“I should get going then.”

“Right.”

Bella moves off the bed, Rosalie immediately following suit. Waving her arm towards the door, Bella looks back at Rosalie. Rosalie, who takes the initiative and walks towards the door. “Show me out?”

Jumping up to open the door, Bella says, “Of course!” She leads the way to the front door.

Rosalie has one foot out the door before she turns back, facing Bella. “I had a nice time yesterday,” she says, because it’s true. She did have a nice time, and she hasn’t had a nice time with someone outside of her family in a long time. It’s refreshing.

“I’m glad,” Bella smiles uncertainly, “I did too.” She looks as if she wants to say more but can’t find the words to do so. Instead, Bella leans in towards Rosalie, but stops short of making any contact.

Taking the lead, Rosalie leans down until her lips are just in front of Bella’s before moving in. Bella breathes in deeply, eyes fluttering shut as Rosalie presses a kiss to her cheek, just shy of Bella’s lips. “We should do this again.”

As Rosalie pulls away, Bella’s eyes open and she looks conflictingly at Rosalie, but chooses not to say anything. Rosalie walks to her car, sliding into the driver’s seat and starting up the engine. She waves stiffly goodbye as she begins to pull out of the driveway, Bella returning her wave and looking on. In response, Rosalie guns it, refusing to look back at Bella as she drives home.

A host of emotions are buzzing through her, but they are emotions she refuses to acknowledge. If she faces them now, she doesn’t know how she will react when they reveal what she has been forcefully pushing away.

Once she pulls off the main road into the forest surrounding the Cullen home, Rosalie begins her mental review of Britney’s greatest hits. She starts with Criminal before transitioning to Womanizer as she nears the house. After getting her car squared away and entering the house proper, the iconic intro to Toxic begins ringing through her head, as does Edward’s ensuing groan. Rosalie allows herself a small smile, even knowing that her distraction will make Edward suspicious. He will think something is going on, which Rosalie isn’t even sure about. Is something going on? Should her burgeoning relationship with an amnesiac Bella Swan be cause for concern? She doesn’t know about that, but what Rosalie does know is that Edward’s opinion has absolutely nothing to do with it.

“Do you really have to do that?”

It gives Rosalie joy like nothing else in the world to hear Edward’s grumbling, but she chooses not to say it. He’ll stop his petulant act out of spite if she does. “I’ll stop when you stop looking my head, dearest brother of mine,” Rosalie responds, false sweetness dripping through her words.

“Nothing would please me more than to never hear a single vapid thought from you ever again,” Edward shoots back.

“Ouch.”

She can hear the suspicion in Edward’s tone, but she chooses to dismiss it. It’s not like he’s going to figure anything out, so long as Rosalie does not consciously think about it in his presence or give up on her faithful reconstruction of Britney Spears’ career. And if nothing else, Rosalie has always had excellent discipline.


	6. first day of school (again)

Rosalie leaving so abruptly is kind of weird, Bella thinks, but she also hasn’t eaten anything in over a day. Come to think about it, Bella has no idea how often vampires need to feed. She could have been in the company of a near feral vampire and she would have been none the wiser. But a large part of Bella believes that Rosalie would never purposefully put her in harm’s way, and she chooses to side with it. And anyways, Bella still has homework to do. Rosalie’s company would have been appreciated, but at least there won’t be any distractions.

It isn’t long before the day has passed, and Bella is once more in her bed. This time, however, she is actually ready to sleep. No random falling asleep in the company of others, just her and her bed. What a beautiful life. Although Bella settles in fairly easily, wrapped up in a thick layer of blankets, she still feels almost cold. Which is strange, considering Rosalie’s body had been cold as a popsicle, but Bella misses the warmth of her presence. She wishes Rosalie is by her side to ease herself into sleep. Two days, Bella thinks ruefully, and her body already seeks another’s comfort.

Eventually after much tossing and turning, Bella slips into a dreamless sleep.

She is promptly awoken by a persistent knocking on her door, “Bella, it’s time for breakfast. Today’s a school day, you know.”

“Okay, dad! I’ll be right down.” Her cheery response reveals none of her annoyance at being awoken so early. Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to stick a bunch of teenagers into a school at 7:45 in the morning? Bella would like to have some words with whoever it was.

Bella is already in her truck, driving to school before she realizes that she has almost no idea what school is actually like. Does she have friends? Beyond the Cullens, at least. How are her classes? They can’t be that hard because Bella remembers cruising through her first few weeks at Forks High. Plus, she’s a senior. And seniors don’t do anything. Except write college applications. Oh god. She nearly blows past a yellow light, her only saving grace from the perils of unsafe driving being her foot slammed on the brake. She has to apply to college! And Bella has absolutely no idea what Past-Bella was planning to do with her life after high school.

As she is pulling into the school parking lot, Bella casts her gaze over the rest of Forks High’s student body. Various groups are mingling around their cars, friends chatting and catching up after the weekend. A creeping sense of dread begins to grow as Bella continues surveying the crowd. 

The dread abruptly crescendos when someone knocks at the driver’s door. Bella starts, peering out of the window. Below her, Alice Cullen waves back, bouncing a few times in excitement. “Hi Bella! Don’t worry about not remembering stuff. Everything’s going to be fine. You’re pretty far ahead in school and we’re here to back you up on everything else!”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Bella smiles back at Alice. “Thanks. Good to know you guys are watching my back at least.”

“Of course, Bella,” Alice says, “We’re always here for you.”

She waits patiently while Bella gets her backpack, stepping to the side to allow Bella to hop out of her truck and stare at the parking lot. It’s not that Forks High is intimidating in any way, but there’s just something about the unknown that makes Bella wary. She doesn’t know what she’s walking into, and no matter how sincere Alice may be, she can’t rely on the Cullens to walk her through living her own life.

The moment her feet hit the ground, the rest of the Cullens appear as if by magic, forming an impenetrable wall between Bella and the masses. Rosalie is to her right, Alice on her left and Edward trying to edge into their line. Emmett and Jasper are behind her, a protective shield against the world. Bella isn’t quite sure she knows what to call the warm feeling that suffuses her when they all fall into step together, but she might dare call it something like belonging.

They walk her all the way to her first class, even stopping while Bella goes through her locker. Alice helpfully points out what she needs, inserting herself into the entire process. Bella appreciates the assistance, she really does, except Rosalie has also been pointedly avoiding her gaze the entire morning. She’s still here, which is a good sign, but Rosalie is seemingly making every effort to avoid interacting with her. That part is a not so good sign.

Bella lets it slide, though, because Rosalie is a private person. She did say that the whole school thought she and Emmett were dating, even when they definitely weren’t. They weren’t right? Bella hopes so. She’s not all that into any of that polygamy thing or whatever thing those Mormons do. 

In any case, Rosalie’s silent snub is slightly disconcerting, but Bella doesn’t let it affect her. Too much, that is. She has no idea why Rosalie doesn’t seem comfortable with being close to her in public, but Bella reasons that it has something to do with her consent. Since she isn’t supposed to remember their relationship, Rosalie is probably giving her space to make her own decisions. It is all very sweet and very considerate and very Rosalie.

The thought shifts Bella out of her negative headspace onto a more positive one—Rosalie is being so accommodating, it’s almost annoying. Well, Bella supposes, if you’re going to do something, you have to commit. Her and Rosalie are definitely going to be having a conversation in the very near future about boundaries, but she can let Rosalie take the lead. For now.

All the happy thoughts continue until they reach her first class. Her retinue stops with her as she reaches the doorway, awkwardly standing to the side as Bella looks back at them, lips pressed together. “Well, guess this is me.”

The Cullens stare back at her blankly before Alice breaks out into a bright smile, “Yes, it is. You’ll be great, Bella. Everything is going to be fine.” Her smile is serene, like she knows something no one else does, but she also isn’t telling. 

“That’s, uh, great.” Although she isn’t exactly sure about the reliability of Alice’s mental Magic-8 Ball, Bella is willing to put her faith in vampiric supremacy. At the very least, Bella is like eighty percent certain that Rosalie will save her from anything too terrible. She’s just that kind of person. Vampire. Whatever.

In any case, Bella feels ready to tackle school. As long as she doesn’t give away her total memory loss of the past eight or so months, she should be fine. Bracing herself with as reassuring a smile as she can give herself, she takes the first few steps away from the safety of the Cullens and into the classroom, “See you guys later, then.”

Her first steps away from the Cullen clan reveals nothing out of the ordinary. She doesn’t exactly remember where her seat is, but Bella figures high school seniors really don’t care about the sanctity of their seats. She finds a nice, attractively empty spot in the middle of the classroom, leaning towards the doorway, but nothing spectacular. No one comes up to contest her seat, and Bella readies herself for a whole hour of—she checks the room’s decor—English, most likely.

Incidentally, as the class begins, nobody comes up to talk to Bella. Apparently, her initial popularity as the shiny new student candy from last year has worn off. Bella is grateful for it as Mr. Gallagher begins lecturing on the importance of academic discourse. It’s a boring theme and Bella tunes him out immediately, instead scribbling away in her notebook.

The bell rings, startling Bella into dropping her pen. Shaking herself out of the fog her mind had drifted off into, Bella looks down at the page she was doodling on. To her mild surprise, she has drawn an astonishingly accurate likeness of Rosalie. Or, Bella squints, what approximates to Rosalie. She’s not exactly the Frida Kahlo of her age. It doesn’t really matter in the end, and Bella will deal with her subconscious obsession with Rosalie another time. After all, it’s probably just her brain telling her to get on with her and Rosalie’s relationship. Despite the fact that it’s not for lack of trying on Bella’s part.

Quickly shoving her notebook and pen into her backpack, Bella moves out of the classroom and into the hallway. She barely makes it out the doorway when someone comes up to her, “Hey Bella. How was your birthday weekend?”

Bella stares momentarily at the girl in glasses walking alongside her before it hits her, “Hey Angela. It was good.”

“I’m sure it was, spending all that time with the Cullens.” Angela has almost a dreamy look on her face, but she continues, “I mean, not to be weird about it or anything. But you know, they’re all really beautiful and cool and perfect, almost.”

“Yeah,” Bella lets out a laugh, shaking her head, “You wouldn’t believe how perfect they are.”

“I’m sure.”

Since Angela is still walking with her, Bella hopes she can still put two and two together, “Ready for our next class?”

Nodding excitedly, Angela readjusts her bag as she slows to a stop, leaning casually against the lockers while staring at an Asian boy chatting with his friends across the hall. “Yep. Can’t wait to show all those losers who’s boss!”

“Wait what.”

Confusedly, Angela turns to look at Bella, “You know, our history project. Jess and I finished it up while you got your party on with the Cullens, and now it’s time to show the class how awesome a job we did!”

“Oh.” Bella nods her head carefully, “Right. Sorry, the weekend really took a lot out of me. It was great, but a lot, you know.”

“Oh yes, I know. School work and projects and college apps, plus the Cullens practically clamoring over themselves to hang out with you. Must be a lot.”

“Yeah.”

They take their seats near a small brunette who looks even more stressed than Bella feels, a feat she is quite impressed by. True to Angela’s words, their presentation blows the others out of the water. Thankfully, senior year isn’t really a time for learning a lot of new material, and Bella is easily able to catch up on any missing information with the help of their really well-made presentation.

Walking out of the classroom with Jess and Angela, the three of them celebrate their success before Jess turns to Bella, “Ready for the math quiz?”

Bella groans.

Aside from a completely unexpected math quiz that Bella thinks she did surprisingly well on, the morning passes with little fanfare. Bella makes her way to the cafeteria alone, but Edward sidles up beside her on the lunch line, “I suppose your day went well, judging by no one avoiding you like the plague.”

Bella’s tray continues to move along the line as she processes his words, “Charming as ever, I see. No wonder the ladies are just lining up around the corner for you.”

The boy grimaces, before flashing what he probably approximates as a charming smile. To his credit, it does make him look fairly attractive. Bella is just decidedly not attracted to his smarminess. 

“I was only making conversation.”

“Yeah, well, I am just ending it.” Bella nods curtly at him before paying the lunch lady. She walks away from Edward, but her efforts are futile as he doggedly follows her. Bella initially heads towards Angela and Jess’ table, but Edward snags her elbow and looks pointedly at the Cullen table.

“Come sit with us.”

The only reason Bella accedes to his shortly worded demand is the fact that Rosalie is already seated at the Cullen table. No Rosalie, and Bella would have protested and refused, but with Rosalie’s presence, Bella calmly makes her way over with only a brief scowl at Edward.

“Hey Bella!” Alice greets her warmly, “Good morning?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t bad. Except for that math quiz I didn’t remember having.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine.” 

Alice’s eyes lose focus briefly, and Bella knows she’s having a vision. However, it is Edward that speaks up after her, “You get an 87. Excellent job, Bella.”

Face scrunching up in distaste at both the school food and Edward’s unsettling telepathy, Bella gently encourages him to stop. “That is...really creepy. Please don’t do that.” 

At this interval, Rosalie finally makes her presence known. “Join the club,” she mutters, still pushing her food around like the rest of the Cullens, “They never stop.”

“It’s part of our charm.” Alice confirms.

“That sounds kind of horrifying, to be honest.”

“It really is,” Rosalie agrees, smiling warmly at Bella before shooting her siblings a glare, “However it is something you learn to live with.”

No matter how reassuring Rosalie and the rest of the Cullens attempt to be, Bella is quite sure that it is something she really does not want to learn to live with. She doesn’t bother telling them that, but she knows she would rather never deal with future-telling, telepathic vampires. Vampires, sure. Telepathic future-telling ones? No thanks.

“So how was your morning, then?” Emmett interjects, “Since I don’t have magical mind reading abilities like some people.”

Nice as it is to have the telepathy confirmed, it still makes Bella really uncomfortable to hear it so casually mentioned in conversation. Nonetheless, she tries not to let her discomfort show. It wouldn’t do to have the vampire family pull away, would it?

Anyways, none of that has any bearing on Bella’s response, which she makes as candid as possible, “It was good. Senior year is really chill, and everything else was pretty easy to catch up on. I think I’m pretty prepared for the rest of the year, even if I never get my memory back.”

It’s a pretty somber thought to think about, but Bella has had a few days to get used to it. She isn’t psyched about going through the rest of her life missing eight months of high school, but she figures it barely measures up in the grand scheme of things. Eight months don’t amount to a whole lot in the face of decades of life. 

Her take on a very traumatic event would probably be frightening to any mental health professional, but it’s a good thing that no therapist would ever believe her talking about mind reading vampires and amnesia caused by extreme head trauma. Plus, Bella isn’t ever planning on speaking with a mental health professional. The very fact that the only people Bella has to turn to for counseling are said mind reading vampires is of only very minor consideration.

“You don’t need to think about it like that,” Edward is probably trying to be consoling, but all it comes out is condescending. He just can’t seem to keep the snide superiority out of his voice, no matter how “comforting” he tries to be. “There is nothing wrong with being scared about missing a critical part of your life.”

“Yeah, nothing wrong with it, but I’m kind of over it. It’s not like I’m missing all that, anyways, right? It’s just high school.” Bella doesn’t mean to snap, but Edward’s condescension and blatant ignorance of her own feelings is really irritating. He refuses to understand what Bella is saying, and acts like he constantly knows better than her. It doesn’t matter how many minds he has read or believes he understands, Bella just doesn’t believe he has any right to dictate her thoughts. 

Evidently, Alice agrees with her. Her eyes sparkle with some kind of secret knowledge that she seems to be keeping to herself, “That’s the spirit, Bella! You just have to keep moving forward and everything will work out eventually. There might be some struggle, but everything will come together. I’m sure of it.”

“Thanks, Alice.”

Bella focuses back on her food, but Edward just can’t take a hint. He cuts himself back into the conversation, leaning close to Bella and putting a hand on her shoulder. It is probably meant as comforting, but all it serves to do is really unnerve Bella. “If you need any help, I would be happy to help you catch up on anything you’ve missed. Or just anything you may need my assistance on.”

The charming smile is back, but Bella pointedly refuses to be drawn into his physical beauty and focus on his terrible personality. Surface level beauty means nothing compared to being a douche. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Edward pouts, but it means nothing to Bella. Really, it doesn’t. 

What does mean something to Bella is Rosalie, who slides into the conversation smoothly with a sympathetic smile directed at Bella. Her tone holds no condescension, no lingering sense of superiority or derision for Bella’s frail mortality. “I’m sure you are perfectly capable of taking care of everything, Bella, but if you ever need something, I am always here for you.”

After her declaration, Rosalie seems oblivious to the pointed looks Emmett and Jasper exchange, or the way Alice and Edward’s heads whip around to look incredulously at her. Bella, who was unceremoniously thrust into the middle of this family and their happenings is less oblivious. Why does the rest of the family seem so surprised at Rosalie’s kind and thoughtful offer? Surely it’s not to be unexpected between past girlfriends of a currently ambiguous relationship status.

Nevertheless, Bella really appreciates the thoughtfully extended offer, and she makes her appreciation known. “Thanks, Rosalie, I’ll be sure to come to you if I need anything.”

Rosalie smiles beamingly and Bella thinks she has just ascended in the face of the divine. It is the only explanation for the warmth that consumes her entire being at the attention. Or the burning blush on her cheeks.

Edward continues to glare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fascinatingly, in the course of writing this chapter, I learned that Angela Weber is, in fact, 6 feet 1 inch. Just let that sink in.


	7. accept the gay please -bella swan

Life goes on, as things do when they pass through a linear vacuum, and everything continues. Nothing spectacular happens, and Bella seems to be fitting back into what must have been her past self’s normal routine like a second-hand glove. There are a few incidents, but nothing to draw much suspicion on the state of her mind.

What does seem to draw attention is Bella’s unprecedented attachment to Rosalie. She is, of course, completely oblivious, but Rosalie, as well as the rest of the school, notice. They notice how Bella seems to avoid talking to Edward in favor of Rosalie. They notice how Bella always sits next to Rosalie at the lunch table, even if Edward is not next to her. They notice how Bella Swan makes every effort to be near the Ice Queen Rosalie Hale instead of her dreamy, perfect boyfriend Edward Cullen.

They notice, and they talk. Rosalie is quite frankly surprised that Bella hasn’t picked up on it yet, but the girl’s always been oblivious. Rosalie and her family are, unfortunately, far less oblivious, most likely due to actually paying attention and vampiric super hearing.

Despite all the talk, Rosalie really couldn’t care less what the peasantry of Forks High thinks. It’s not like their opinions are relevant or important, so long as they don’t start suspecting something supernatural about her family. No, what she really cares about is how Bella and her family think. Their reactions are by far the most important for her.

Blessedly, Emmett chooses not to make any comments about it, and Alice and Jasper are mostly ambivalent, but Edward reacts far less pleasantly. He is constantly sulking, blaming Rosalie for his lack of success with wooing Bella or whatever ridiculous notion he has going on in his mind. He is a romantic, and he believes his relationship with Bella is peak romanticism. Rosalie finds it a crock of utter bullshit, but she chooses not to fight him on it. It’s not like Bella is falling into said crock of bullshit.

If anything, Bella seems to be falling into, well, something completely different. No matter how many pointed looks Alice gives her, Rosalie genuinely has no idea why Bella seems so attached to her. It’s probably some dumb human reason that Rosalie will curse herself for not understanding in hindsight, but she really doesn’t know why Bella Swan does anything that she does.

What Rosalie does know is that Bella’s company is actually quite enjoyable. She gets why Edward is drawn to her like a moth to flame, singer notwithstanding, and she finds herself almost jealous of her brother for his time spent with Bella.

Of course, Rosalie shakes her head, such jealousy is completely misplaced because this is her brother’s mate she is thinking about. Or, questionably temporarily amnesiac mate, at least. She shakes her head again. That is a can of worms she is quite ready to never open in her entire life.

A gentle poke nudges Rosalie out of her head and back into the dreary reality of Washington, “Hey, ready to go?”

Turning her head to face her nudger, Rosalie snaps out of her depressive thoughts about Washington. There is absolutely nothing dreary about the smile Bella throws her way as she grips onto her backpack straps, biting her lip and rocking on her heels. The sight is entirely too endearing and Rosalie’s icy heart melts just a smidgeon at it. She willfully refuses to acknowledge why. “Yeah, of course. I’ll drive my own car over, okay?”

No matter how endearing Bella Swan may be, Rosalie refuses to get into her metal hunk of junk on principle. She is all about principles. Like not dealing with her feelings for her brother’s quasi ex-girlfriend.

If the Bella Swan of a few seconds past could be described as endearing, then the Bella Swan now is absolutely breathtaking. The smile she sends Rosalie is quiet, unremarkable in its simplicity if not for the fact that the happiness seems to burst out of every cell in Bella’s body. “I did offer you a ride, y’know.”

“And I kindly counteract your offer with my offer of driving in a car meant for actual human transportation.”

“Yeaaaaa, no. I don’t think so. You drive like speed limits are a mere suggestion. I’m not about to risk that. I’ll take my trusty truck and its solid maximum fifty miles per hour any day.” Bella pats her truck fondly, “This bad boy and I have been through a lot together.”

Rosalie sighs. Of course they have.

“Come on, time's a wastin’ and we wouldn’t want that!” Bella exclaims cheerily, hopping into her truck and starting the engine. She waves at Rosalie, joy clearly evident. There is no trace of inner conflict, no struggle for a connection she doesn’t have. Bella Swan is completely content with the course her life has taken and Rosalie finds herself caught in the wake of her happiness.

Her being caught up in the whirlwind of Bella is the only possible explanation for Rosalie agreeing to help Bella with her college applications of all things. Bella was extraordinarily confused as to why her past self had barely seemed to plan for her higher education, and no one had the heart to explain why. It wouldn’t affect them anyways.

Wouldn’t affect anyone but Rosalie. Bella’s drive to move on, continue her life beyond Forks and beyond high school is a stark reminder to Rosalie about the endless hollow cycle of her life. It would be painful, if not for the fact that the very vibrancy Bella exudes warms the ice in Rosalie’s veins and gives her enough reason to care. To try to believe that there could be something beyond collecting graduation caps, year after year, decade after decade. She thinks about how empty her life has been, and how willing she was to continue the cycle until Bella Swan crashed into her life and made her see. See the possibilities and all that could be in life.

For the first time since her turning, Rosalie thinks she feels something resembling hope. Hope that her life can go somewhere, anywhere. Anywhere Bella goes, and Rosalie will follow.

The revelation is startling, but as Rosalie pulls into the Swan driveway and sees Bella waving excitedly back at her, she knows it is something she can believe in. Carlisle may have given her a second chance at life, but Bella is the second chance that Rosalie wants.

“Took you long enough, Hale. Thought you were stepping out on me,” Bella jokes as Rosalie makes her way to the doorway, “Not that I’m saying we have something for you to step on, or anything. But uh-”

The rambling manages a short laugh out of Rosalie as she tosses her hair on the way up the steps, “No one who has something with me would ever want to step out.”

“No, no, of course not. God forbid anyone do that.”

It doesn’t matter how hard she tries because Rosalie can’t seem to stop enjoying every moment of every second she gets to spend in Bella’s company. All thoughts of her brother’s ex-girlfriend fly out the window when Bella Swan smiles that ridiculous, absurdly endearing half-smile at her. Like an addict seeking her fix, Rosalie will do everything in her power to be the cause of Bella’s smiles.

This need, this desire to be the root of Bella’s joy is the most intense feeling Rosalie has felt since she lost her humanity, and by far the most positive out of everything she has ever felt. The residual guilt courtesy of Edward is easily pushed away, especially without the company of her family. 

Rosalie processes all of this within seconds, easily maintaining her conversation with Bella despite the thoughts swirling through her mind. It is something she never quite expected, to exist with abilities so far beyond humans that she is almost like a, well, god among men.

“God forbid,” Rosalie agrees.

“Yeah.” The statement is said carefully, like Bella wants to say more but can’t. There is something unspoken hanging between them, a cloud of unacknowledged desire separating them beyond the physical.

The delicate balance is maintained when neither chooses to elaborate and the conversation lapses into silence as they enter Bella’s room. Letting out a quiet sigh at the situation, Bella settles at her desk and boots up her computer. She spins around aimlessly while Rosalie waits on her bed. The silence is oppressive, and Rosalie knows exactly why it is there; they are at a stalemate, a flurry of emotions consuming them with neither willing to press further into the storm. 

The root of the problem, Rosalie knows, is fear. Despite living beyond a century, with lifetimes of experience to match, she still fears the unknown. Especially with over a century of experience, the unknown is particularly frightening if she hasn’t encountered it by now. If she presses forward now, then Rosalie has no idea what might happen. And yet, somehow, the thought of that is not nearly as terrifying as it once was. Bella makes her happy. She makes her  _ feel _ . Is that not enough?

“So, what do you need help on?” Rosalie cringes immediately at how incredibly pathetic she sounds. The century old vampire incapable of talking to a simple crush. If only seventeen-year-old Rosalie could see her now.

Noncommittally, Bella shrugs. “Not much, really. I just wanted some input on my essays. And your company, I guess. We haven’t been doing much and I wanted to hang out, I guess.”

The answer is frank, leaving no room for misinterpretation or evasion. It is a move Rosalie would relish using on others. This time, unfortunately, Rosalie is on the receiving end of it. “Oh.”

“No snappy comeback for that one? Have I finally gotten one over the great Rosalie Hale? Can’t wait to tell all my friends about it.” Looking particularly gleeful at the thought, Bella grins back at her. The awkwardness has faded, leaving them both in a comfortable conversation. Almost too comfortable, if Rosalie is to be honest.

“No!” She exclaims, before realizing she has let herself act before thinking. This loss of control is new, and she’s quite sure she doesn’t like it. Nothing has ever prepared her for wild, rash actions without long moments of deliberation, “I was just surprised.”

“That I want to spend time with you?”

The question elicits a sigh from Rosalie. Bella makes it sound as if it was only natural for her to want Rosalie’s company, completely expected and not in the least disarming. If only she knew how wrong she was. Rosalie shakes her head. Bella certainly wouldn’t be acting as chummy as she is now with her if she knew.

“I guess not.” Rosalie admits, and Bella smiles, satisfied. Such frank admittance of Bella’s motives throws Rosalie off kilter, reminding her of what Alice had said when Bella asked for her help.

The way she had looked at Rosalie, as if she knew the answer but still hoped it wasn’t true, it had almost caused Rosalie to reconsider. I hope you know what you’re doing, she had said, you better be sure this is what you want because you are dancing on a tightrope above fire. 

It constantly frustrates Rosalie, the way Alice knows what will happen but still asks as if she has a choice. As if Rosalie can change her future, no matter how many visions Alice has. She knows how Alice’s visions work. She knows that she could walk away. She knows that she can stop. She knows it all, but she won’t. Because all the pain in the world would be worth it, if only she could spend one more moment with Bella.

That’s not what she told Alice, though. She had thrown out some careless response about being friends, which had seemed to appease her, but it will not stop the inquisition to come should Rosalie continue on her path. It doesn’t deter her in the least. Friends, or something more, Rosalie is ready to admit that she will be happy with any or all of the above.

Her introspection is cut short by Bella’s concern, a question that brings Rosalie crashing back to reality, “You okay?”

“Uh, of course. I’m fine.” Rosalie mentally faceplants. The most inelegant moments in her life in front of who may be the most important person in her life. Fate has a funny way of working out.

“Okay then.” And just like that, they are back to business, “These are the essays I wrote and stuff, so if you wanna look these over, that would be great.”

Taking the proffered out gratefully, Rosalie accepts Bella’s laptop and begins scanning over the essays. She has barely finished the first two before Bella interjects, “So what colleges are you applying to?”

Rosalie looks up at Bella and stares dumbly back.

“Ugh, what am I thinking. You probably already have like a thousand acceptances while I am struggling to even finish getting ready. Sorry. You can ignore me.”

Rosalie softens, “No, that’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting your question.”

Bella perks up. “Oh?”

“Yes. But, to answer your question, I’m not applying to any colleges.”

Dumbfoundedly, Bella stares back at Rosalie. The confusion is clear as day in her features, and she asks, “But why? You’re so smart and cool and any college would be lucky to have you! You could probably get into any college in the world if you felt like it.”

Smiling sadly, Rosalie nods her head, “I probably could. But I won’t.” College isn’t meant for people like Rosalie, nor is anything resembling a real life. It only extends her misery, giving her false hope for a real life. It’s easier, she knows, to stick to high school while she can still get away with it. College is too open, too exposed and scrutinized for the necessary anonymity her family needs. She and her family are doomed to repeat high school, forever and ever while the rest of the world turns. It is a fact she has long since accepted, after the third graduation or so.

Bella, however, has not. At the revelation, she looks uniquely heartbroken on Rosalie’s behalf. “But you are missing-”

“No, I’m really not,” Rosalie reveals, “Humanity is something I will never get to experience again, and I have long since stopped fooling myself into believing I could.”

For a moment, a brief, excruciating moment, Bella is silent.

Then, “I’m sorry,” she says, and it is not enough, not nearly enough, but Rosalie accepts it like a starving man would crumbs from the baker. And then Bella gets up from her seat, crossing the room to stand in front of Rosalie.

Before she knows it, Rosalie is surrounded by the scent of Bella and her embrace. Hugged tightly, Rosalie stiffens and flounders briefly before relaxing and winding her arms around Bella. The small, frail human in her arms tightens her grip as if she could somehow make a difference if she only holds on tighter, and Rosalie blinks back tears of venom at the sensation. Inhaling deeply, Rosalie knows that Bella Swan will be her salvation and ruination in equal measure.

She can’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...it's technically still Friday where I am. Also I'm really tired (not of this fic though this fic gives me life) so I hope this came out at least semi-coherent.


	8. just two girls, pretending they're not in love with one another cause they're not gay

Rome didn’t really fall in a day and ruination doesn’t come in one either. Rosalie would really rather it did. All this suspense, waiting for the other shoe to drop, is really killing her. Whoever said that good things come to those who wait has clearly never been in a relationship before.

The next time Bella asks to hang out, Rosalie jumps at the chance. She was planning on tuning up her convertible, but certain things take precedence. Actually, now that she thinks about it, Rosalie is an excellent multitasker. And girls like people who are good with cars, right? Rosalie hopes so. Her entire plan hinges on that assumption being fact. She offers a study session but makes sure to tell Bella that she’ll be working on some...other things while Bella does her homework.

Even though Bella still refuses to get in a car with Rosalie again and continually insists on driving her own truck wherever they go, Rosalie remains optimistic about the outcome of today’s ‘hang-out’. They arrive at the Cullen house in short order and Rosalie ushers them quickly to the garage so as to avoid any interaction with her siblings. Her relationship with Bella is something she wants as detached as possible from her family.

It’s nothing against them or anything, but Rosalie just wants something for herself completely independent from the rest of them. Everyone had their chances to bond with Bella, and they grew extraordinarily attached. Now that Rosalie has the chance, she is finding herself becoming extraordinarily attached. The only difference is that this time, Bella has become extraordinarily attached to Rosalie and not any of her family. Rosalie is enjoying it immensely.

Bella lets out a small gasp upon entering the garage, staring in wonder at the beautiful collection of sleek, perfect cars surrounding her. “So, this is where the magic happens,” she comments, “This is really impressive. You must be able to do so much with this.”

“Yep,” Rosalie smiles broadly, gesturing to the expanse of space and cars before her. This is her paradise, and the very fact that Bella is so taken with it proves that she is making the right decision. Her family has always supported her and her interests, but they never really seemed to care all that much. Bella does. And that makes all the difference in the world. “This is where the magic happens.”

Walking around the garage, Bella seems to judge the cars around her before making a choice. She settles on a bench beside an ice blue Ferrari F12, gazing admiringly at its finish. “Nice car,” she says, “I like the color.”

“Yeah,” Rosalie swells with pride. Bella’s pick is one of Rosalie’s _favorites_. Beyond the fact that the color is the most stunning icy blue she has ever seen in her life, the F12 is a car that Rosalie has spent countless hours tuning to absolute mechanical perfection. Although she is fond of her convertible, the Ferrari is a car that she would most consider her pride and joy. “I had it custom painted and upgraded it as much as necessary. This is what peak performance looks like right now.”

The excitement is clear in Rosalie’s face, and Bella sends her a quick grin, “I understood like half of that, but you look really excited so I’m gonna pretend I understood all of that. You should definitely keep talking, though,” she smiles brightly at Rosalie and sits on a nearby bench, pulling out her schoolwork, “You just keep doing your thing.”

Although she isn’t sure if it is a human thing or not, such a statement exemplifies the difference between Bella and Rosalie’s family. Alice, Emmett, and even Jasper have tried to develop an interest in cars, or at least entertain Rosalie’s, but it never seemed to stick. Somehow, despite their brilliant vampire minds, they still haven’t thought to maybe just sit by Rosalie’s side while she works. It’s quite sad to think about, but Rosalie knows that she has bigger and better things to work towards.

They do their own things in companionable silence for a time before Rosalie breaks it while slipping past Bella to switch out her socket wrench, “What are you working on?”

Looking up from her work, Bella sends Rosalie a quick smile before replying, “Just some English.”

“Oh, what about? It’s your favorite class, isn’t it?” Rosalie keeps up the conversation, even as she disappears behind her car. She isn’t completely sure how to navigate the tenuous budding of their relationship, but Rosalie is perfectly willing to forge on ahead and pave their path together. 

“Yeah!” Bella brightens at the comment, “How did you—oh never mind you probably knew that from past me. Forget I said that. But yeah, it is.”

Despite the fact that Bella can’t see her, Rosalie finds herself nodding at Bella’s words before pressing her lips together. She’s not...technically wrong. Rosalie does know about Bella’s favorite class from her past self, but most definitely not in the way Bella thinks. Rosalie feels a brief pang at the knowledge that she only knows this because Bella had spent long hours with Edward talking about her favorite books and she had been on the sidelines. 

A twist of fate and suddenly her and Edward have switched places, leaving him on the outside looking in while Rosalie has everything they did. Or she could. She thinks. Bella seems pretty amenable, but Rosalie doesn’t know if she’s ready to push the issue. 

“Yeah, I remember. But you seemed far more invested in your English homework than any of your other classwork, so it kind of makes sense. Plus, no teenage girl is ever that attached to Wuthering Heights unless they love English.”

To Rosalie’s great regret, she can’t see how Bella reacts to her words, but she hopes it's positive. It doesn’t need to be a smile, but anything to improve Bella’s mood, however infinitesimally, is enough. She can hear from the pitch Bella’s voice takes on that she is definitely pleased. Something about the slight upwards lilt, the way she seems to curl around the ends of the word, as if she is dragging them out from a smile, “That’s some pretty suspect reasoning to me. I mean, what if someone just really likes the book? It’s a good book, after all. Tragic, doomed love and a lifelong passion for the unattainable. What’s not to love?”

“Sounds like every teenage girl’s dream,” Rosalie responds dryly, slipping around the car to get to the hood. While Bella seems incapable of keeping her smile out of her voice, Rosalie isn’t in a much better boat. Her only saving grace is that Bella can’t see how hopelessly she is smiling. She probably looks the part of a fool, dumb and far too loopy for her own good. At least while she’s working on her car, Rosalie can save face and keep her calm, cool facade. She hopes.

Rosalie’s head pops back just in time to see Bella’s face color just the faintest shade of pink. Turning away, Rosalie allows herself a smirk. It’s nice to see the effect she has on her. Based on past experience, Rosalie knows she can have this effect on just about anyone, but she’s never _wanted_ it before. 

“I mean, I guess it might not be for everyone, but I just think it’s neat. It’s the greatest love story of all time, except for the part where they’re not really in love with each other, just ideas of the other. And then the love drives them into extreme passion and the absolute absence of passion, I mean-” Bella cuts herself off and Rosalie rushes just slightly faster than human to watch the blush intensify. It’s the small things in life. “You probably don’t want to hear me blabber about Wuthering Heights of all things.”

Rosalie rushes to reassure Bella; she has no intention of cutting anything she says off. “It doesn’t really matter what you talk about, Bella. As long as you’re passionate about it, I’m happy to hear you blabber about anything in the world.”

“Oh,” Bella pauses briefly, “Good.”

“Yeah.”

Another lapse in the conversation occurs, and despite wishing it to continue, Rosalie does have to get the oil changed before she can finish with the car. With a sigh, Rosalie rolls herself under the car and gets to work.

It ends up being a turn of fate that Rosalie is under the car because just seconds after she disappears from view, Bella abruptly blurts out, “Do you wanna hang out sometime again? Maybe a bit more formally this time? Like a dinner, or something.”

She still sputters a bit, but thankfully Bella’s human ears don’t pick up on it. She is fairly certain about that. Nevertheless, where Bella’s ears fall short, vampire ears unfortunately do not. Edward is already about to bust down the door leading into the garage before Rosalie has to foresight to hiss out a subvocal warning. She is not about to let Edward of all people interrupt during such a delicate development.

She can hear Bella fidgeting, but Rosalie does have work to do. Studiously focusing on her car, Rosalie tries to play off the request, “Well, I think a dinner would be nice, except for the part where I can’t eat. How about we do something else? I’m sure Alice has a few ideas.”

“Uh, well, I was kind of hoping it would be a you and me thing. Y’know, just the two of us.”

“Oh, really? Did you have a plan? Something specific in mind?”

“A, ah, date?”

Bella being relatively quick uptake is somewhat surprising, but Rosalie relishes it. She barely even notes Edward’s growl from beyond the door and instead focuses on not breaking her car by jumping in joy. She likes to think she is fairly successful, although there may be a slight dent under the car. Nobody will notice so it doesn’t count.

“Uh, sorry if that was too much. I know things are weird cause of my, y’know, amnesia, but I was thinking this would be good for both of us,” Bella says, clearly uncomfortable at Rosalie’s non-answer, “No pressure, or anything, if you don’t want to. I get it.”

At this, Rosalie realizes her interference is completely necessary before Bella spirals off into a tangent that makes her reconsider the entire situation. She finishes as quickly and responsibly as possible with her car and slides out in a rush, “No, no, nothing of the sort. I was just surprised. I would love to go on a date with you, Bella. Doing whatever you’d like.”

“Really? That’s awesome. I mean, excellent. Good. Great.” The relief is clear in Bella’s voice, and Rosalie smiles dazzlingly back at her.

“I’m looking forward to it already.”

Edward might claim that they are soulless monsters who will never ascend to hell, but Rosalie will gladly burn for an eternity if it means she can be near a happy Bella. The pure joy radiating off of her at Rosalie’s acceptance is enough to fuel her for a thousand and one years. 

Speaking of Edward, the only reason he hasn’t barged into the garage to ream Rosalie out is Emmett’s prompt and forceful restraint. Rosalie whispers a quick thank you before wiping off her hands and seating herself beside Bella. “What made you ask?” She questions, “I mean, what was it that made up your mind?”

“Well,” Bella shakes her head, blushing lightly, “This is going to seem silly, but I just thought that you were going to be forever polite and perfect and never do it, but I really like you, so I thought I’d just get to it.”

Laying her hand gently on Bella’s knee, Rosalie reassures the adorable mess that is the woman she is falling in love with, “That’s not silly at all. Sounds exactly like something I’d do.”

“I thought so.”

Rosalie can’t help the laugh Bella’s statement elicits from her, and she never wants to. There is something beautiful about being forced to let down her walls and let someone in, doubly so if the person she is letting in is Bella Swan. Absolutely terrifying, but beautiful.

They work out the details before settling themselves in comfortable conversation. And then Bella is packing up her stuff and waving goodbye from her dreadful monstrosity of a car, Rosalie waving back like a poor woman watching her husband go off to war. With the condition that truck is in, Rosalie figures it’s probably worse than war.

Bella barely makes it out of the driveway before Edward is accosting her, growling like it will somehow intimidate her or something. Rosalie snorts. “Quit with the theatrics, Edward. It’s just a date. And she asked me. You have no claim here.”

“She’s my mate!”

“ _She_ is a person! _She_ gets to choose who she loves. _She_ makes her own decisions, Edward! You don’t dictate any of that. And you never will.”

Before Edward can make another move, Alice’s hand on his shoulder stops him. He turns to her with a wild look in his eyes, barely restrained instincts screaming at him to do something. A look from Alice is all that stops him, and he slumps. “Are you sure?” His voice is defeated, like a sailor rowing upstream on an endless river.

Alice nods tightly.

With a sigh, Edward shakes his head and speeds off. Rosalie wishes her brother did not have to suffer the way he does, that her happiness is not contingent on his loss, but that is the way of the world and he made his choices. She turns to Alice, who looks at Edward’s retreating figure with a small, grim smile before turning to Rosalie. Her eyes bore into Rosalie’s with the intensity of a thousand suns, but she does not judge.

“It was always going to be you,” she says instead, before racing away.

Her words echo in Rosalie’s head as she stands alone among the trees. _It was always going to be you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost there!! I'm very excite because they're finally going to gay soon.


	9. what's life without a bit of drama?

Their plan is for Friday. Rosalie will pick Bella up from her house after school and then they will head towards Port Angeles. She’s still not entirely sure about the being driven by Rosalie ‘What’s a Speed Limit’ Hale, but even Bella doubts her truck’s capability of making the drive. Incidentally, she also knows that they will be passing through a small, middle of nowhere town called Sappho, which isn’t particularly important, but interesting nonetheless. After that, they’ll watch any mildly interesting non-horror-related film and go from there. The plan is simple, basic, and will hopefully yield a beautiful relationship. That’s the plan, at least.

The plan is thrown at the window the moment Jess bounces up to Bella the next Monday in the parking lot, cheery smile forever in place as she talks, “So, excited for Homecoming?”

Bella blinks. “Homecoming?”

If Jess notices Bella’s confusion, she doesn’t let it show. Instead she continues on as if nothing is amiss, “Yeah, homecoming!” When Bella remains mute, Jess continues, “You were so excited when Edward asked and we went dress shopping like two weeks ago? Ringing a bell?”

Bella isn’t sure which part is more surprising. The fact that she was planning on going to Homecoming or the fact that she was planning on going to Homecoming with Edward Cullen?! She doesn’t respond immediately, glancing over at the Cullens around their cars. To the average observer, nothing would seem amiss, but Bella can tell by the way their bodies are angled towards her and Jess that they are completely in tune with the conversation. That is relieving, although Bella isn’t entirely sure why. After all, she was supposed to go to Homecoming with Edward! Bella doesn’t want to believe it, but Jess would have no reason to lie. 

If what she says is true, does that mean Bella was never with Rosalie? Has she built a relationship out of something that was never there? Has she given a part of herself to someone who never wanted it? No, Bella shakes her head. Rosalie wants it just as much as she does. She has to.

The thought is consoling, but not nearly enough. After all, Rosalie let their relationship grow from nothing into something. She was the sun and Bella the rain to the bud of their blooming love. And yet, Bella sighs, she was not. In the end, Rosalie was the moon, a pale reflection of the sun. A false imitation.

Shaking her head, Bella refuses to believe it. Their relationship cannot, could not possibly be nothing. Her feelings may be new, may be caused by the onset of her amnesia, but they are real and Bella refuses to give them up. Edward means _nothing_ to her, nothing compared to Rosalie.

A hand waving in her face brings Bella back to reality, “Hello, hello? Earth to Bella. You kind of zoned out there,” Jess says when Bella finally turns back to her, “Got a little worried.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Thankfully, Bella is saved by the bell. Metaphorically, since the bell doesn’t ring, but Jess realizes that she has to get to class at the other end of the school, sending a quick apology as she dashes away. She leaves with a promise to talk later, but Bella doesn’t know what to say. While left alone to contemplate her situation, Bella purposefully makes sure to avoid the Cullens. She has too many feelings right now, and she doesn’t trust herself to be around them. Who knows what confused and frustrated Bella will blurt out around them. It’s not worth the risk until Bella sorts out her feelings, so she goes through the rest of her day avoiding the Cullens. Thankfully, she doesn’t share any classes with them.

During lunch, Bella makes sure to sit with her other friends, ignoring the Cullens and making her way straight to Angela and Jess’ table. Her friends seem a bit confused, but happily allow Bella to insinuate herself into their conversation. She tries to let herself fall into her normal school routine, but she just keeps thinking about Rosalie. How can she trust anything that happens between them if the fundamental basis of their relationship is a lie?

It’s not like her feelings for Rosalie have somehow changed; Bella just doesn’t know if she can trust her. Is she probably most likely in love with Rosalie Hale? Yes. Does Bella think it’s a good idea to continue falling in love with Rosalie Hale? She’s not so sure about that anymore.

The doubt almost consumes her, and Bella hates herself for it. She also hates the fact that she is in this situation. There’s no one to blame, however. Except maybe Edward. He did throw her into a wall. But she doesn’t even like Edward. Anymore. She did, though? The whole affair is really confusing, and Bella really did not sign up for this. She wishes she could go back to the day before where life was full of bliss and she had no idea about any of this twisty relationship and lies business.

Somehow at the end of the school day, Bella feels as if she has aged a century in the span of a day. Conscious avoidance is stressful, and to make it all worse, she still doesn’t know what to do.

She walks out of Forks High with a heavy weight in her heart. Scanning the parking lot, Bella notices that Rosalie’s car is still sitting serenely in the parking lot, Rosalie nowhere to be found. Bella strides over with a confidence she doesn’t feel and begins to wait.

As if summoned, Rosalie appears not a moment later, hurrying over to Bella, anxiety clear in her eyes. Just seeing the anxiety makes Bella’s heart sink, and she hopes beyond anything else that the ensuing conversation won’t leave either of them hurting. “Why does Jessica think I’m going to Homecoming with Edward?” In the corner of her eye, Bella can see Edward appearing, hair still ridiculously tousled with a smug smirk appearing on his face. The smugness is particularly off-putting, and Bella really wants to ask what past-Bella saw in him. She just doesn’t get it.

At the question, Rosalie looks conflicted. Pain clouds her angelic features and Bella dearly wishes that she isn’t the one responsible for it. Rosalie seems to shrink before steeling herself, meeting Bella’s eyes and responding, “You were dating Edward before the accident. I didn’t tell you, and I let you believe that wasn’t the case because you didn’t want it to be and I couldn’t hurt you.” Her reply is blunt and to the point. She doesn’t try to over-justify her actions, simply telling Bella what happened and letting her make the judgement, “It started with me wanting to give you the choice in your relationships, but it ended with me taking that choice away anyways.”

“So you lied.”

Rosalie opens her mouth before stopping. “Yes,” she hangs her head, “I can’t make any excuse for it beyond the fact that I didn’t want to hurt you. But it still did, and for that, I am sorry.”

The sorrow is genuine and Bella’s heart breaks. She never wants to hurt Rosalie, even when she knows that it is not her fault. It was never her fault, and yet Bella cannot help but feel bad about the whole situation. “You did what you thought was best. You tried to protect me and ended up being the one to hurt me the most because I care, Rosalie. I care about you, but I can’t see where this leaves us. And that scares the fuck out of me.”

In a surprising move, Rosalie rushes to embrace Bella, tightly wrapping her arms around Bella and pulling her close. “I am so sorry that I put you in this position. If I could change anything I’ve ever done, it would be this.”

Although the hug is unexpected, it is by no means unaccepted. Sinking into Rosalie, Bella holds her tightly, pressing her cheek into her breast. Rosalie’s body is cold, but the hug infuses Bella with a warmth she has never felt before and it is glorious. Bella would die happy in Rosalie’s arms if she could, and she never wants to give it up, lies or no.

It doesn’t matter that she used to date Edward. It barely matters that Rosalie lied to her because Bella just doesn’t care. All of it pales in comparison to what Bella feels for Rosalie and she couldn’t care less about past mistakes when it’s Rosalie. “I don’t think I want you to change anything you’ve ever done because we wouldn’t be what we are today if you didn’t,” Bella admits, “And my life is far, far brighter for having you.”

Rosalie’s responding smile is blinding. She pulls back, gently cupping Bella’s face and connecting their gazes. Bella feels a pull to Rosalie, feels something binding them to one another that is stronger than any bond she has ever felt in her life. It is simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating and it feels like standing at the edge of the world. 

Bella has never felt a greater desire to jump in her life.

Any thoughts of lies or betrayals have been washed away by the fact that Bella doesn’t care anymore. She knows that her feelings are real, and she knows that Rosalie’s are real, and she knows that it is enough. And Edward? He means just about nothing to Bella. Past-Bella may have been dating him, but present-Bella is decidedly not doing that.

She moves back into Rosalie’s arms and it feels like home.

She turns around so that Rosalie is to her back, one arm around her waist and the other over her shoulder. They stay there for a while, just holding onto one another as the rest of the school passes by. Bella ignores the looks and stares and remembers that none of it besides Rosalie matters. It is there, wrapped in Rosalie’s arms that Bella has a moment of genius. “So…what about Homecoming?”

A sense of pride fills Bella at her brilliance when Rosalie starts, letting go of Bella just briefly enough for Bella to grab her arm and bring it back around her. Rosalie will definitely swear this never happened, but Bella will know. And she will delight in her ability to make Rosalie Hale, the so-called Ice-Queen flail like a lost little teenager, just like the rest of the world.

Eventually, Rosalie responds, “What about it?”

“Well,” Bella fidgets a bit, playing with Rosalie’s obliging arm, “We should go. Together.” She stresses the last point just in case Rosalie hasn’t gotten the memo by now. She’s not clingy, but Bella thinks that they have a lot of catching up to do and Rosalie is too polite to push any issue without being pushed first. It is incredibly charming, but also incredibly frustrating. Bella never expected to be the _aggressive_ one in a relationship.

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Looking up at Rosalie, Bella will swear by her dying breath that if vampires could blush, Rosalie would be scarlet. It is, quite frankly, adorable. She’ll never tell Rosalie that, though.

“As a first date?”

Is that disappointment Bella hears in Rosalie’s voice? For their first date? Bella clutches on tighter to Rosalie as her heart melts at the pure softness that Rosalie exudes. Whoever dares call Rosalie Hale an Ice Queen ever again can square up because Bella is ready to fight. “I mean,” Bella says sheepishly, hoping Rosalie is ready to accept the truth, “We’ve kind of basically been dating for a while anyways.”

To Bella’s eternal delight, she looks up just in time to see Rosalie’s mouth drop into a perfect ‘O’ and it is magical. Baby corgis and kittens have nothing on a flustered Rosalie. Pressing herself ever deeper into Rosalie’s embrace, Bella takes it as a yes. After all, she is the sun and Rosalie the moon, and the sun and the moon loved each other until the end of their days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit earlier than normal, but I was just so excited. We've done it! For everyone who's stuck through with the story so far, it is officially finished! Bella and Rosalie are in love and they will be in love forever that's it. 
> 
> The last chapter will be a little epilogue/add-on to the story and it will also be really cute. I promise. It'll be up in two weeks, so can't wait to see y'all there!
> 
> Also, for anyone who was curious, when Alice said to Rosalie that it was always going to be her, I made it in reference to the other timeline where Bella doesn't lose her memory and has Resume and Rosalie basically becomes the other parent while Edward mopes in a corner. In that world, it takes a bit longer, but Bella and Rosalie are always in love in any universe!!


	10. i have loved you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hope everyone's been hanging in there so far. I know for me that this week has been...stressful, to say the least, but I hope at least this fic can brighten up someone's day if it needs brightening.

Bella doesn’t know what possessed her to willingly suggest Homecoming as a first official date. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now she is consumed by nerves and completely stressed out. What if Rosalie sees her and realizes Bella is just a pathetic human and she should really go date some other perfect, immortal vampire that isn’t her? What if Rosalie actually can’t stand her and all it took was a disastrous date for her to realize this?

Before Bella’s thoughts can spiral any further, Alice pops into her room, shoving Bella’s dress at her and smiling reassuringly, “No, Rosalie doesn’t want any other vampire; she wants you. Also, Rosalie loves you and no date, disastrous or otherwise, is going to change that. Don’t stress it, Bella. It’s going to be great.” She smiles that mysterious, I-know-something-you-don’t smile and Bella calms. Sure, the fortune telling is kind of annoying and really hard to wrap her head around, but it is just what she needs to soothe her nerves.

She likes Rosalie. And Rosalie likes her. That’s all that matters, and Bella is ready to take the next step. For realsies this time. Gratefully taking the dress from Alice’s hands, Bella returns with a smile she is beginning to feel, “Thanks Alice. I was just worried, but you’re right. As always.”

Alice chirps back happily, “Of course, Bella,” she twirls away like she does, leaving Bella to her thoughts and her dress.

The dress is, of course, beautiful. It was handpicked by Alice and grudgingly approved of by Bella. No matter how reassuring Alice can be, Bella still struggles to accept that she deserves wonderful things like this. She tries not to think about the price tag that Alice had determinedly hidden from sight at the boutique and puts the dress on carefully, a tight black number that cuts off at the knees in the front and flares out behind her, giving off the impression of a cape. She looks good, Bella has to admit. The neckline might be a bit scandalous for an early twentieth century vampire’s sensibilities, but Bella is cautiously very optimistic. (Alice may or may not have already assured her that Rosalie’s jaw will drop the moment she sees her.) (Bella may or may not be wearing this dress for that effect only.)

Once the dress is on and properly adjusted under Alice’s careful watch, she gestures for Bella to twirl. Feeling incredibly silly as she does so, Bella obliges.

With a gasp, Alice rushes to hug Bella, “You look amazing! Rose is going to die, you two are going to be the most beautiful couple there.”

Despite the words, Bella still feels incredibly self-conscious. She couldn’t care less about being the most beautiful couple at Forks High’s Homecoming, but she does hope she can be an adequate partner for her date. Rosalie deserves nothing but the best.

Her thoughts don’t stray far because Alice is whacking her lightly on the shoulder. Always perky and supportive, Alice admonishes Bella with a glare, “Stop putting yourself down, Bella! Rosalie really likes you for you and nothing is going to change that. She wants you, not some random vampire off the street, so suck it up and go have a great Homecoming!”

It makes Bella wonder what it must be like to be that cheerful all the time. She shudders to imagine herself like that, but she has to admit that it suits Alice well. She shoots her friend a grateful smile, moving to a mirror and looking at herself. 

What she sees takes Bella’s breath away as well. Momentarily, at least. She looks...beautiful. Stunning, almost. She waves to her reflection, gazing in awe at someone she barely recognizes, in the best way possible. Who knew some makeup and a pretty dress could make one feel so good? Bella smiles. She’s going to take Rosalie’s breath away; of that she is sure.

Behind her, Alice comes up to Bella’s shoulder. “Like it?”

“I-” Bella turns to face Alice, throwing her arms around her, “Thank you. I know looking good doesn’t mean everything, but it feels good. And you’ve been a great friend, even if I don’t remember our past relationship, so thank you. I’m being really emotional, but I can’t help it because you guys are just so amazing-” Bella breaks off, clinging tighter to Alice, “Thank you.”

Alice’s arms wrap around Bella as she returns the embrace, “You’re welcome, Bella! That’s what friends are for.”

They hold onto each other for a few seconds more before a knock at the door causes them to move apart. Alice opens the door to Charlie, arms still raised to knock again, “Can I come in?”

“Of course!” Alice nods enthusiastically, stepping away to let Charlie in.

“Hey, Bells,” he says, stopping when he catches sight of her. “My god, you look beautiful.” He steps as delicately as a man like Charlie does over the various scattered clothes on Bella’s floor until he reaches her. Grasping her shoulders, Charlie pulls Bella into a loose hug, “You’re all grown up now, Bells.”

His voice is filled with emotion, an intertwined mixture of pride, joy, and sadness and it makes Bella blush. Looking away before she can mess up Alice’s painstakingly applied makeup, Bella manages a bashful smile, “It’s just Homecoming, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“It’s a big deal for me, Bells. Just let me have this,” Charlie says gruffly before pulling back from her. Bella supposes she can. It’s not every day one watches their daughter go off to Homecoming, and Bella knows opportunities like this will become scarcer as time passes. Especially if she continues her relationship with an immortal vampire.

Somehow, Alice knows Bella is about to start overthinking because she breaks in with a cheerful grin, “It’s just a date, Bella. You can stress about your future later. Now, you just have to enjoy it, alright? This is something that’s going to be really important for both you and Rose, so you need to stop thinking yourself into corners.”

Although she will never admit it to anybody, Alice is both a saving grace and extremely intimidating. Bella swallows and nods. Her stressing will just have to take a backseat because her resolve to make this Homecoming great will prevail. If not for her, then at least for Rosalie because she deserves her happiness. Plus, she deserves this, too. Steeling her nerves, Bella directs a smile towards Alice and Charlie, “So, are we doing this or not?”

Alice cheers and Charlie smiles. Ushered down the stairs by Alice, the three of them barely make their way to the living room before the doorbell rings. With an excited cry, Alice bounds over to the door, cracking it open just slightly to whisper with whoever is on the other side. The whole time, Bella looks on with a smile. She has a few ideas about who is on the other side, and Alice’s antics are sweet, if mildly frustrating. She just wants to be with Rosalie. It’s the whole reason she’s submitting herself to this dog and pony show. 

It’s not that Bella is against performative social events like Homecoming, but it’s not really her thing. Neither is it Rosalie’s, and that is exactly why Bella is doing this. This is their chance to make new memories together, a chance to share their firsts. Bella would sacrifice more than she could possibly imagine to share another first with Rosalie. So, she stands with Charlie in the living room while Alice occupies herself with the bell-ringer.

Eventually, Alice must be satisfied with whatever the other person (Rosalie) says because she throws the door open with a flourish and rushes back to the living room. Clapping her hands, Alice exclaims, “Time for pictures!”

With a groan, Bella exchanges a despairing glance with Charlie. He makes a face, something between what-can-you-do, sympathetic understanding, and pure elation and Bella throws her hands up. She can’t believe that her own father would betray her like this. At Alice’s impatient look, Bella resigns herself to her fate and heads for the door. To her dismay, Rosalie isn’t even there as consolation. Why is she subjecting herself to this if not for Rosalie?

As if sensing her dismay, Alice whispers to her as she passes, “Rosalie’s waiting outside for the pictures, Bella.”

Sheepishly, Bella continues out. If her step is just a bit lighter, and if she moves just a bit quicker, well, that’s between her and whoever’s up in the sky. And Alice’s knowing look, but Bella will simply pretend she doesn’t see it as she makes it through the doorway.

The sight before her literally stops Bella in her tracks, Alice nearly bumping into her at the abruptness. Bella can’t even find it in herself to be sorry because she is in the presence of the divine.

Decked out in ivory so pale it’s nearly white, Rosalie truly looks the part of an angel. Despite the perfectly tailored dress accentuating Rosalie’s curves and giving her the most perfect figure known to man, Bella hardly notices it compared to the blinding beauty of Rosalie’s smile. The sheer happiness in her eyes brings Rosalie so, so alive and it makes Bella’s heart shatter before putting the pieces back together endlessly.

If Rosalie were a temple, Bella would be her most devout worshipper, falling to her knees at the ineffable beauty of her light. Watching as Rosalie’s smile grows a thousand times brighter when she sees her, Bella knows that Rosalie would say the same of her. And she would believe it if Rosalie would look at her the way she is now.

“Bella,” Rosalie says, rushing to grasp her hands in her own, her excitement nearly all-consuming, “You’re beautiful.”

“So are you,” Bella breathes, holding onto Rosalie’s hands tightly, “You’re stunning, Rosalie.”

Eyes twinkling, Rosalie stares intensely back at Bella. She counters with a grin, endlessly determined to show Bella up in the practice of compliments, “Looking at you, I have to remind myself to breathe—almost to remind my heart to beat!”

If Bella nearly swoons and falls into Rosalie’s embrace, well that’s between her, Rosalie, and nobody else, “You say that like you don’t take my breath every day I am with you, as if you do not burn brighter than this world can understand-”

Before Bella can continue in her exaltations, Alice claps her hands, “As fun as it is to see you two quote _Wuthering Heights_ at each other, we’re on a schedule and it’s time for pictures!” She waves her hand demandingly at them and Bella sighs.

This time, when Bella looks towards Rosalie for emotional sympathy, Rosalie looks back at her with an equally suffering, lop-sided smile, rolling her eyes playfully. Bella falls and falls and falls and she would surely continue falling to the ends of the earth if Rosalie weren’t there to wrap her arm around her waist as Alice begins snapping pictures. 

They stand there together, waiting while Alice continues taking pictures and forcing them into various positions. Bella wishes they could avoid this whole affair altogether, but Alice insisted, and Alice always gets her way. At least Rosalie is suffering alongside her, and at least Bella will have these pictures to cherish for all time. She isn’t particularly vain, but Bella thinks she could stare at herself and Rosalie together forever. As time goes on, however, and the sun begins to set, Alice shows no sign of letting up.

Bella sighs.

“She’ll get over it eventually. Maybe after the twentieth Homecoming, or so,” Rosalie whispers, bending down to brush Bella’s ear with her lips, as they stand together, “And then it’ll just be you and I and our twenty Homecomings.”

The beginnings of tears start to form at Rosalie’s words as Bella tries to imagine it. Twenty Homecomings. The way Rosalie says it, as if it is a finality, the Earth is round, the sky is blue, and they will have an eternity of Homecomings, makes Bella emotional beyond belief. Something in her breaks as Bella realizes that it is because she wants that. She wants an eternity of Homecomings and an eternity with Rosalie. And she’ll have it.

Bella doesn’t realize that Alice has finished with her pictures until Rosalie is gently turning Bella at the shoulders to face her. She looks intently at Bella, as if searching for something indiscernible before her hands come up, cupping her face and gently brushing away the tears. “Don’t cry, Bella. This is our fate; it will be our fate until the day we are ashes upon this Earth. It will be an eternity, Bella. I promise.”

“You promise?”

Softly, tenderly, Rosalie’s eyes speak more than an eternity of words could provide as she pulls Bella’s face closer and bends until their foreheads are touching. In unison, their eyes flutter closed as Rosalie whispers, “There is nothing I could ever want more.”

Before she can think, before she can talk herself out of it, Bella pushes herself forwards, pressing herself against Rosalie. Before they can meet in a kiss, Bella’s nose knocks into Rosalie’s and they pull apart. Rosalie’s eyes flutter open as they both laugh. The tension breaks, but Bella doesn’t miss it as she falls deeper into Rosalie’s eyes. Somehow the moment has only become more perfect as Rosalie gently moves forward to bump her nose against Bella’s again. Bella laughs again and pulls herself ever closer to Rosalie.

In the rays of the setting sun, Bella stares up at Rosalie, stares up at her future and all the possibilities of their love, and Rosalie stares right back. They stand together that way, two souls intertwined as one. It is all Bella could have ever wanted, and all she needed was a really hard knock on her head to show her that. She laughs even as her heart nearly explodes with exaltation.

Rosalie tilts her head questioningly at Bella, but Bella doesn’t reply. Instead, her own hands come up, cupping Rosalie’s face as she holds it still, just slightly angled before moving impossibly closer. Bella’s movements are slow, purposeful, and Rosalie only comes closer and closer until there is nothing between them.

At the first press of lips against lips, Bella sighs, mouth parting open. She feels consumed, like she and Rosalie are standing in the eye of a storm, oblivious as the world rages around them. It could be, for all she cares because Bella can only focus on the feeling of Rosalie’s lips on hers and the touch of Rosalie against her.

Their kiss lasts for an eternity and ends in a flash, as if Bella has traveled through a thousand years in the span of a second and when they part, Bella feels as if she has lost something she’s needed all her life. All she’ll ever know is the touch of Rosalie against her, and Bella will go through the rest of her life with a smile on her face for having known it.

It is something she wants, Bella realizes, something that makes her feel heady and selfish for taking. Throwing caution to the wind, Bella surges up and Rosalie is bending down, and they are kissing again, searching and desperate against one another. It feels like Bella is dying and ascending at every press of Rosalie on her and she welcomes it gladly, hands moving to wrap her arms around Rosalie’s neck as they hold on to one another. Their kisses soar in intensity, stoking flames in Bella that she has never felt before, and Bella is perfectly ready to succumb to the fire burning through her veins.

The only thing stopping them from spending the rest of the night wrapped in one another on her yard is Alice, a one-woman army unto herself as she honks the horn of Rosalie’s car, “Save this for after the dance! You guys have a Homecoming to go to!”

The horn and her voice stop Rosalie and Bella. Pulling apart with a whine, Rosalie looks mournful as Bella ducks her head sheepishly. They do seem to be doing everything out of order. Looking up at Rosalie, nearly glowing in the setting light of the sun, Bella shrugs. “Oops.”

Alice honks again.

Rosalie sighs, but the smile on her face is brilliant. Her hands drop from Bella’s face as she offers one to Bella with a slight bow, “Shall we?”

The words hold a question, and a million others within them, all of which Bella is ready to accept. Taking Rosalie’s hands and turning with her to the car, they fall into step together, one beside the other. “We shall.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, we've done it! Thanks to everyone who's been here for this journey because it's been a truly amazing experience on my end. Rose and Bella will always have my heart-these two are just too pure.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone wants to hit me up on tumblr, I'm over there @ehemond.


End file.
